


Exile

by EscapingReality51



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emmerdale Big Bang Round 2, IN SPACE!, M/M, Pining, Referenced violence, Sci-Fi, Slow Burn, and all that comes with it, guard!Aaron, prisoner!Robert, scientist!Robert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 16:50:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16141445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EscapingReality51/pseuds/EscapingReality51
Summary: Aaron is a member of Cain’s crew on the Akadia transport ship when Cain agrees to transport a different type of cargo than usual - a prisoner. Robert Sugden, the most notorious scientist-turned-murderer in the solar system arrives on the ship in manacles, and Aaron Dingle has to spend eight and a half months guarding Robert Sugden in a cell while they transport him from Earth to his trial on Mars. Somewhere along the way Aaron starts to discover that the man in manacles may not be as evil as he has been made out to be.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for Round 2 of the Emmerdale Big Bang, and thus there is beautiful art attached to it made by the wonderful [Bella](http://iwantmessedup.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. Links to her artworks can be found [here](http://iwantmessedup.tumblr.com/post/178602270752/emmerdale-big-bang-round-2-exile-by) and the playlist [here](http://iwantmessedup.tumblr.com/post/178602272857/emmerdale-big-bang-round-2-playlist-inspired-by)

Aaron had seen Earth before, but never this close. The window in the ship anchored to the Earth-linked Station wasn’t nearly large enough to show the entire planet, but what Aaron could see was different than he expected. It was referred to historically as the blue planet but this close, it looked more brown than blue; it looked barren and abandoned. What he knew were clouds flitted over a desert planet with little water to speak of - the planet of their origin had become decimated by their presence. Beneath some of the white billowing clouds Aaron could spot the bubble-encased habitations left on Earth, the remnants of the human race living on their birth-planet, saving it so they could go back, someday. 

Aaron stood at the window while the ship docked, a process now almost completely automated by the ship’s computer. He could barely feel it. Not until he heard the airlock between the two ships open did he register their arrival. 

“Aaron,” Cain called out behind him. “Incoming.” 

He turned around, nodded. They walked together to the entrance of the docking site side-by-side, boots moving familiarly across the ship’s metal floor. Aaron kept his arms folded behind his back and with the gun strapped to his thigh he felt safe, despite the dangerous nature of the assignment. “Who’s escorting the cargo?”

Cain bit at the nail of his thumb. “Military. They haven’t wanted to let the most wanted killer in the solar system out of their sight I reckon.” 

As they arrived at the entrance Aaron saw that Cain was right. They were met by four uniformed guards, each one standing so as to surround the cargo - the man Aaron and the rest of Cain’s crew were charged with bringing to the other end of the solar-system. A man charged with murder. 

Standing between four dark-blue clad soldiers, Robert Sugden didn’t look like a murderer. His blond hair and freckled skin made him look like your regular high-society rich idiot, but the dried blood on his chin, his swollen lip, and his bruised cheekbone made his features almost unrecognisable from TV broadcasts. He stood there silently as Cain talked to the soldier in charge, eyes downcast and his hands and feet tied together with a heavy chain which was in turn held by two of the four guards. He didn’t move as they talked, as Cain signed some paperwork and referred to Robert as chattel. 

Aaron let the conversation drift around him, not really paying attention. He had his gaze fixed on Robert; he couldn’t take his eyes off him. Even in chains Robert Sugden was defiant, shoulders fixed and not hunched over, pride stubbornness emanating from him. Aaron guessed you didn’t get to being one of the top scientists on Earth’s facility by being meek.

Only when business was taken care of and the soldiers pulled Sugden forward by his chains did Robert’s eyes snap up, meeting Aaron’s. He looked murderous now, anger burning through him and threatening to go up in a blaze. The thought of Robert out of his chains made Aaron want to flinch, and the look in Robert’s eye almost made Aaron reach for his gun. 

The soldiers marched forward, pulling Robert between them as they walked. Cain showed them the way and Aaron pulled up the rear, following the procession that rang through the corridor with an almost deafening noise. The footsteps of the four soldiers were almost rhythmic but Aaron noticed an outlier, an uneven gait and a softer sound that upon closer inspection came from Robert; he was limping, barefoot, one leg dragging behind as the he tried to keep up with the procession. The chains around his hands and feet didn’t make it easy. Aaron just ignored it, looking ahead and trying to ignore the lump in his throat. It had never been there before on the job.

This was different - this job was different. They were used to being hired to transport whatever people needed across the different Stations, whether it was alcohol, food, water, salt. Never people. Cain had a rule about that, but when this job had come along, the pay had been too high to refuse. 

Finally they arrived at what would be Robert’s cell for the next many months. A glass room which left the inhabitant little privacy, with a small bed in one corner next to metal fixtures in the wall meant to shackle him there, several surveillance cameras, and not much else. They hadn’t exactly had facilities for this, so they had had to improvise. Aaron watched as Robert was led into the cell, as his shackles were taken off the soldiers and attached to the wall on the two separate metal fastings. Robert took in his surroundings with an indifferent stare, a cold reaction to what would be his last room as a free man. Although, ‘free’ was debatable. 

Aaron watched him as the soldiers returned, as Cain finished signing paperwork that let the authorities know exactly where Robert was. He watched him as he sat there, lip swollen and air indifferent, feet planted on the floor and back straight and unrelenting. He may have been beaten but Robert was far from broken. Aaron was certain of that. 

“Right,” Cain said, letting out a breath. He was nervous, Aaron could tell. “We’ve got this guy for the next eight months. Guard rotations are set up?”

Aaron nodded. “It’ll rotate between me, Debbie, Adam, and Holly. Matty’s too important to spare, and Ross is working on fixing the computer in the fuel chamber. We get maximum six hours each. With the security systems active, one guard will be able to handle any anomalies, and during the night the systems will notify me of any movement Robert makes.” 

Cain hummed. “Glad to hear it. Moira isn’t too happy about this job, but the pay…”

“I know,” Aaron said. He met Cain’s eye and saw determination etched into his features. “I’ll take first shift then.” 

Cain nodded, gave him a pat on the shoulder before walking off. Aaron listened as his steps receded into silence before looking up at the person sitting behind the glass - Robert was staring right at him. Turning around quickly, Aaron positioned himself next to the entrance to the cell, hands still firmly clasped behind his back. He took a deep breath. Despite having his back turned, Aaron could feel Robert’s stare digging into his back through the glass; all Robert’s anger and hatred was focused entirely on Aaron, burning through him as he took a deep breath and tried to think of something other than the prisoner sitting behind him.

 

Aaron stared up at the ceiling of his bed - a metal grid hiding the air vents that ran throughout the ship - and sighed. Sleep wasn’t going to come, not tonight. He inhaled slowly, breathing in the recycled air that permeated the ship and exhaling, trying to calm the restlessness in his limbs. 

It was futile. He sat up, letting his bare feet touch cold metal of the ship’s floor. Normally he used it to wake him up, a shock to his system as he first stepped out of bed in the morning but right now it centered him, gave him a focus. 

He was used to being kept up by nightmares - dreams of footsteps outside his bedroom door and pain he never wanted to revisit but this was different. This was an unease like he had never felt before.

His room was small - all of them were on the Akadia - with a small single cot, under which there were two drawers for clothes. There was a small table on which Aaron had placed a picture of his mother and sister and him, and a small screen for personal use. The walls were bare, mostly, except for one painting which he had indulged in printing out and sticking to the wall directly opposite his bed. 

In the corner of his room there stood a small table upon which sat a metal jug and an empty glass. He got up and walked towards it, wearing nothing more than a pair of briefs, and poured himself a glass of water, letting it quench his thirst. He remembered being told of what humans did to Earth, how they decimated the seas and pillaged the land until there was nothing left but the desert there was now, too high in CO 2 and too warm for anything to survive. A barren planet, bereft of life. Here he stood, thousands of miles above the Earth’s surface, drinking water in the middle of the night. Well, night according to Mars.  

When the glass was empty Aaron walked back to his bed. It was a small indent in the wall and there was a small lamp attached to the corner. It wasn’t particularly comfortable, but if you were tired enough it didn’t matter.

This job would get him enough money to go back, spend time with his family for a while. He had taken this job as soon as Cain had offered it to him; a stable job wasn’t easy to come by after a brief stint in jail, and a job on Cain’s ship meant seeing the universe, seeing Earth for himself. Getting away from his past was just a bonus.

It was cold as he lay back down on his bed, briefly glancing at his watch and groaning as he saw what time it was. He took a deep breath and tried to let his mind drift, but the restlessness was still there, gnawing at his mind and shooting through his body. 

In the end, Aaron didn’t sleep much at all. 

 

Breakfast in the ship’s small kitchen was usually a quiet affair - the 10 man table was often empty, with people eating meals whenever they had a break, and everyone had breaks at different times. After a late night, Aaron trudged in and put on a pot of coffee to jump-start his brain and sat down with a bowl of cereal, adding milk powder and water to it to make it edible. Marlon’s porridge was his go-to but Marlon usually didn’t make that until he got up himself. Which he hadn’t. 

Footsteps behind Aaron alerted him to the presence of one of his crew-mates. Working in such close proximity to one another meant that Aaron had quickly learned how to distinguish between people’s footsteps, the weight and gait, and Adam had a distinctive walk; a slight swagger that made his steps instantly recognisable. He was Moira’s son, the middle of three children, and Aaron’s best friend.

“Morning,” Aaron said, watching Adam as he walked around the kitchen. 

“Alright, bro?” Adam asked. He let out a yelp of glee at the sight of coffee, pouring himself a cup and, noticing Aaron’s lack of one, poured another. He sat down opposite him, setting the steaming cup down as well.

“Thanks,” Aaron murmured. 

Adam smiled. “No problem. You’ve had your first shift guarding Sugden, yeah?” Aaron hummed in reply. “How did it go?”

Aaron shrugged. “Was fine… six hours of me staring at the wall while he sat doing nothing.”

Adam rubbed his neck with his hand, looking at Aaron over his cup of coffee. “I’ve got the shift after Debbie in a few hours… You talk to Cain about it?”

Aaron set his spoon down. “About what?”

“The job,” Adam replied. “Thought we had a rule, no transporting people. I know it’s a lot of money but it’s a line I didn’t think we’d cross.” 

Aaron sighed. Adam was too kind for his own good sometimes. “Look, with this payment we could take a holiday, go to one of those beach resorts on Phobos, have some drinks and get a tan. With this money, Cain and Moira’ll get to take some time off, help Zak and Lisa raise Isaac. It’s a good thing, yeah?” 

The corners of Adam’s mouth tugged in a small smile. “I just… This is wild, yeah? Us transporting a criminal to Mars when he’s been the main story on the news for weeks.” 

Aaron nodded at that. Ever since Robert was accused of Dr Addyman’s death his face had been plastered on every screen across the galaxy. A betrayer of humankind, they called him.

Aaron took his first sip of coffee, relishing the warmth that spread as he drank it. “He isn’t technically a criminal yet,” Aaron said. 

“He’s a right piece of work,” Adam countered. 

Aaron shrugged. “We just have to guard him. He’s all alone in that cell.”

“I know,” Adam said. “He just gives me the creeps. Someone like that… how can they even let him live.” 

“Killing your brother’s wife is bad enough but when she’s also leading TERRA’s research...” Aaron said. 

Adam nodded once. “The way he did it as well - letting her die in the scorching sunlight without shelter and a limited oxygen supply. You can’t trust a bloke like that… A trial is more than he deserves, I reckon.” 

“Good thing it isn’t for you to decide.” Aaron took the final bite of his breakfast. Adam’s eyes were fixed on the table. “The money’s worth it, yeah? After this, after our holiday, you can go to university, or start a company. We could do whatever we wanted.” 

Adam smiled again. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Aaron got up and set about putting his dishes away in the steriliser. With a quick glance at the clock, he sighed.  “I think it’s my turn to bring Sugden his breakfast.” 

“Cain’s got you in charge of his schedule then?” Adam asked. There was no jealousy there, and Aaron loved his friend for it. Most people would instantly be furious that their step-father hadn’t chosen them, but Adam was just happy for Aaron. “Lot of responsibility.” 

“Yeah,” Aaron said. “He’s got two trips to the bathroom every day, 8AM and 8PM, breakfast and dinner, and it’s time for his breakfast.” 

Adam nodded, and walked towards the door with his cup in hand. “Nothing too fancy, yeah?” 

As Adam’s footsteps receded, Aaron couldn’t help but think that everyone deserved food, no matter what they had done. 

 

“He hasn’t eaten anything we’ve given him so far,” Cain said. 

Aaron had been on his way to the kitchen to prepare the prisoner’s dinner when Cain had run into him. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his expression was something Aaron thought akin to worry.

“So? Not my problem, is it?” Aaron asked. 

Cain stopped walking and Aaron did the same, turning around to see Cain frowning. “Look, I don’t like it anymore than you do, but while he’s here, I don’t want him mistreated. I won’t have it said I treat people badly,” Cain added. 

Aaron huffed at that - the legal trial was yet to come but the public trial was all but over. His best guess was that Moira liked it less than Cain did. “What do you want me to do about it?” 

Cain shrugged his shoulders. “Bring him some leftovers from last night. Talk to him. While he’s here we’ll treat him like a normal human being.” 

Aaron nodded, hands on his hips in defiance. “‘Cept he isn’t one, is he?” Robert’s gaze flitted back to his mind, accompanied by a shiver that any human could do what he did and still look so… normal. Cain just glared at him. “Let’s see what’s leftover from last night then,” Aaron said. 

Robert’s dinner ended up being mashed potatoes from powder and a thin stew with beef and carrots. Marlon did his best with the rations they carried and the resulting stew had smelled delicious the night before. Cain looked happy enough as Aaron popped a plate of it in the microwave to heat. 

“No knives, or forks. Give him a spoon and a plastic cup of water.” 

Aaron nodded, staring at the machine as the plate rotated and the timer went off ten seconds later. “Anything else? 

Cain thought for a second before answering. “His shackles. You can loosen them, but only an inch or so. Just enough for him to lift a hand to his mouth. We want him to eat but we don’t want any incidents.” Aaron simply nodded before taking the heat-resistant plate in his hand and setting it on a tray with a cup of water. 

“The way he’s tied up I doubt he’ll try anything,” Aaron said. “He has barely moved since we put him there.”

“We’re not taking any chances.” With that, Cain left. 

The walk from the kitchen to the cell containing one prisoner took Aaron around the edge of the ship, along the windows out towards the star-speckled vacuum which surrounded them. On other days he would let himself look, let himself stare into the vastness of space and let it consume him, but today was different. There was an urgency to his step that echoed in the walls of the ship, a rhythmic pounding of rubber on metal. Aaron had best not let the food get cold. 

Adam greeted him with a grin and a wave as he approached. “Never thought I see you as a waiter but here we are,” he joked. 

“Shut up,” Aaron replied, a smile on his lips. “Open the cell, will you?” 

Adam nodded, typing in the eight-digit code to unlock the door and standing back as it mechanically open outwards. Aaron walked through the door and Adam closed it behind him with the press of a button, watching closely as Aaron made his way towards Robert Sugden. 

He was sitting on his bed, his position unchanged from when Aaron had ended his shift the night before. The dried blood on his face was still there, and the swelling appeared to have gotten worse, even looked a bit inflamed. 

“Food,” Aaron said. Robert didn’t move. “You should eat.” That made Robert’s eyes flicker up to Aaron’s face, now cold and unfeeling, and then down to the steaming plate in Aaron’s hands. “This should be better than what you got last night,” Aaron said. 

Still Robert Sugden kept his mouth shut, his lips firmly pressed together although his eyes looked hungrily at his food. Aaron looked down at the floor, spotting the tray of breakfast he had brought in earlier that was obviously untouched. Aaron set the tray of steaming food down and picked up the cold one. “We’re going to keep bringing you food. You might as well eat it.” Robert’s gaze fell back down to the floor and he didn’t move. “I’m going to loosen your cuffs just a little, so you can eat a little easier.” 

Aaron went down on his knees and produced a small key from his pocket. Robert eyed it curiously, examining the teeth as if it held the secrets of the universe in its delicate structure. When Aaron took Robert’s hand in his own, Robert’s eyes followed but he didn’t flinch at Aaron’s touch and after opening the lock, Aaron pulled the chain through before locking it in place again. Robert’s gaze remained the same, blue-green and inquisitive.

Aaron got up and nodded. Robert looked down at his plate of food and Aaron could almost see him hold back a smile. So Aaron left him to it - he indicated for Adam to open the cell door and walked out with the old tray in his hands. 

“He’s quiet,” Adam noted. 

Aaron looked in and saw Robert moving his hands, testing the limitations of his loosened chains. “I guess he doesn’t have much to say,” Aaron said. As Robert bent forward Aaron saw him wince, and then immediately look up to lock eyes with Aaron. One hand clutched at his side but Robert moved it, pretending he had never put it there. He looked at Aaron until he looked away, finding Adam’s face instead. “See you later,” Aaron said, and Adam returned the greeting. 

As he walked along the cell Aaron let himself look in, and found Robert lifting the spoon to his lips. Aaron couldn’t help but smile.

  
  


Aaron took his next shift the day after, relieving Holly of her post to stand guard in front the glass door, knowing the next six hours would mean tedium and time spent alone with his own thoughts. Not that he needed it. 

“Anything happen?” Aaron asked.

Holly smiled, eyes bright. She was the daughter of Moira from her first husband, and Adam’s older sister. Her blonde hair was tied in a pony tail, and her blue eyes showed an exhaustion Aaron expected he would mirror in six hours’ time. “Not really,” she said. “He still isn’t eating much and his face looks terrible, but…” she shrugged. 

Aaron looked behind her at the figure sitting there. He had moved since Aaron’s last shift - he now sat on the bed with his feet crossed and his head leaning back against the only metal wall of his cell. The cut on his lip was healing but no one had been in to clean the blood off his face, and he was still wearing the blood-stained clothes in which he arrived. It felt wrong, even with a criminal. 

Before he took her spot next to the cell door, Aaron had made the decision.

Matty had been surprisingly easy to convince. 

“You want to help the most wanted man in our solar system?” he had asked hands crossed over his chest. “Why?”

“Because he is still human, no matter what he did. He hasn’t been convicted yet, yeah?” Aaron had his hands on his hips as he spoke, hoping to appeal to Matty’s compassionate side. 

Matty stared at him, cogs turning until he nodded once, and took down the first aid kit and handed it to Aaron. 

Aaron now gripped the first aid kit tightly in one hand and a damp towel in the other as he walked towards Robert’s cell. Matty had been reluctant to let him do it, insisting on going with Aaron to help, but Aaron knew that if Matty was there Robert wouldn’t agree to it, to being helped. Aaron swallowed at the thought. Helping a suspected murderer was not something he had thought of doing when he woke up that morning. 

Adam was guarding the cell as Aaron walked up to it. 

“Alright, mate?” Adam asked, cocking an eyebrow as he noticed what Aaron was carrying. “What’s all this?”

“Cain’s orders,” Aaron lied, the words slipping out of his mouth with unnerving ease. “Sugden’s beat up, he should get a bit of help.” 

Adam didn’t look too pleased but walked over to the cell door nonetheless, glancing at Aaron over his shoulder as he punched in the code. “You sure about this?” His face showed a hesitance that Aaron felt reflected in his own mind - what was he doing, after all? - but Aaron remained quiet, ignoring Adam’s question. It wasn’t right, leaving Robert to sit with his blood still on his clothes. Adam stood aside as Aaron gave him a final glance before walking through. 

Robert glanced sideways at the door as it opened and Aaron stepped in. He didn’t speak. His eyes tracked Aaron’s movement before flickering towards Adam outside the door, and Aaron could see panic spreading. 

“I’ve brought this,” Aaron said, lifting the small red box in his hand. “That cut on your cheek doesn’t look great, thought you might want someone to look at it.” 

Robert sat on his small cot, his manacled hands resting on his knees. His feet were bare, as they had been when he arrived, and his trousers looked as dirty as when he arrived. Aaron would have to talk to Cain about that too. 

“Why are you helping me?” Robert asked. 

Aaron didn’t have an answer. He walked over to the metal cot - a bed hanging off the wall by two chains with a small pillow and a thin sheet that looked untouched - and sat down on it, opening the packet and finding the disinfectant. “Can you shuffle over?” 

Robert managed with a bit of concealed wincing, despite his manacles, to sit down opposite Aaron on the cot, one leg tucked beneath him and the other slung over the edge. He looked almost comfortable, except for the bruises on his face. 

He lifted his hand and moved it to Robert’s cheek, waiting for a small nod before holding onto Robert’s jaw. With the other hand he lifted the towel up to Robert’s chin, and started cleaning the dried blood there with gentle movements. Soon enough the blood was gone, leaving pale skin and freckles in its wake, Robert’s jaw clenching as Aaron worked. When his chin was clean, Aaron looked towards the cut on Robert’s cheekbone, and found a small disinfectant wipe in the kit. According to Matty, it was strong enough to take care of any burgeoning infection Robert might have. 

Aaron lifted the tissue with disinfectant on to Robert cheek, carefully dabbing his skin and making Robert wince. Aaron muttered: “I’m sorry,” and Robert met his eye. He looked confused. 

“Why?” he asked. 

“Why what?” Aaron countered.

Robert winced again as Aaron cleaned the healing cut on his cheekbone. “Most people would be happy to see me hurting,” he said. His voice was low, as if he was afraid to be heard.

Aaron didn’t reply, instead continuing to clean Robert’s face, wiping the blood off the cut with slow and steady wipes of a wet tissue while holding Robert’s face still with his other hand. 

Robert’s eyes remained on him while he worked, watching Aaron’s every move, following his hands as he took a plaster out of his small first aid kit, and gently placed it on the cut, careful to avoid getting too close to Robert’s eye. 

“Who did it?” Aaron asked. At his question the anger Aaron saw before flared up again, burning brightly in Robert’s eyes, all-consuming, as if it was the only thing Robert was holding on to.

“Why do you care?” Robert asked. 

Aaron let go of Robert’s face, and picked up the used tissues and towel. When he looked back up, Robert’s features had softened - he almost looked regretful. “I don’t really,” Aaron replied. 

Robert nodded once, quick and decisive. It was followed by a gruff laugh of defeat, a shrinking of his shoulders as he stared at the floor. “The guards, a few days before I was chucked onto this ship. Someone turned the security cameras off and three of them walked in, didn’t stop until I begged.” 

Aaron swallowed hard. That would explain his small limp as he walked onto the ship; by the looks of it, Robert hadn’t started begging after the first blow. Robert didn’t seem like the type of person who bent to the will of others - Aaron could only look at him and wonder when he would break. 

Robert was looking at him, waiting for a scathing remark, or a show of hatred. Instead Aaron got up, holding the first aid kit beneath his arm.  “I’ll have someone bring you a set of fresh clothes,” Aaron said, taking in the way Robert’s mouth fell slightly open at the words. “And I’ll be back tomorrow to check your plaster.” 

Robert nodded again, softer this time. “Thank you,” he muttered. 

 

“What’re you doing?” Robert asked, eyes wide and muscles tense, as if preparing to bolt despite his chains. 

Matty walked closer and placed the small tray carrying syringes, a stint, and bandages on Robert’s bed. Aaron walked up behind him and both of them stood back, giving Robert space. 

“I asked Matty, our resident medic, to check you over,” Aaron said. 

Robert remained quiet, eyes flitting between the two of them. His body relaxed a little as he took in their distance and the medical kit next to him. “How do you know I won’t attack you?” he asked. 

“Well,” Matty said with a smile on his face, “there’s nothing on that tray that would harm either of us, so good luck trying.” 

Robert remained unfazed. 

Aaron cleared his throat. “If you don’t want medical attention I can’t force you, but he’s here and he’s good. Might be able to help you breathe a bit easier.” 

Robert’s eyes flickered down to his chest, and he swallowed hard. Clearly he thought he had been more careful. Finally, he nodded. Matty smiled and walked over, carefully lifting Robert’s shirt up to look at his chest - it was worse than Aaron expected. 

Large purple and green bruises ran down Robert’s right side from his arm down across his ribcage. Aaron let his eyes trace over it, taking in the small bruises that littered Robert’s chest, the suspiciously foot-shaped bruise on Robert’s stomach. Aaron looked up at Robert’s face and saw only distance, a man hiding from the pain that must be coursing through him. 

Matty placed a hand gently on Robert’s chest making him wince, and after a few minutes examination, took his hand away and looked up at Aaron. 

“Broken ribs…” Matty muttered. 

“Got everything you need?” Aaron asked. 

Matty nodded. He turned back to Robert and said: “Aaron, I need a hand.” 

Aaron was there in three steps, and took over from where Matty was holding up Robert’s shirt. 

Matty paused, hands inches from Robert’s skin. He sighed and glanced down at the two syringes and the gauze he had brought. 

“First, I’m going to inject you with a serum containing chrondoblasts which will help your fractured ribs heal faster,” Matty said.

“I know what they are,” Robert replied with haste. Robert clearly wanted people to know he was intelligent.  

Matty smiled. “You’ll have some pain tonight and most of tomorrow, but as long as you don’t run a marathon anytime soon the pain should subside in a few days. This,” Matty said, pointing at the other syringe, “is your bog-standard epithelial proliferation kit; I’m going to use it on your cheek, and your lip.” 

Robert nodded and Matty got to work. Aaron watched as Matty treated Robert, carefully injecting the syringes without Robert wincing, not even when Matty started work on his ribcage. When that was done, he wrapped a bandage around Robert’s chest. Then he started work on Robert’s face. 

“Can I check your ankles before I go?” Matty asked as he set down the now empty proliferation kit. Robert smiled slightly, and nodded. It completely changed his face. 

After a quick assessment, Matty stood up and sighed. “Your ankle’s twisted,” Matty said to Robert, turning to Aaron before continuing, “mind if I go and pick up a compression bandage and some medicine?”

Aaron shook his head, and listened as Matty’s footsteps receded. 

Silence engulfed them. Robert leaned back and rested his head against the metal wall of his cell. Aaron watched him, as was his duty. He watched as Robert took a deep breath and winced, causing a hand to involuntarily move up to his chest. The sound of metal chains dragged through the fastings echoed throughout the room, cold and distinct. 

Aaron cleared his throat, and Robert immediately looked over, one eyebrow raised. 

“How’re you feeling?” Aaron asked. 

Robert shrugged, and the sound of his chains followed. “I imagine I’ll feel better in the morning,” he said. Aaron nodded and bit his lip. “Why are you doing this?” Robert continued. 

“Doing what?” Aaron asked. 

Robert was just about to open his mouth when Matty pressed the eight-digit code and walked back into the cell. “Right,” he said, holding an old-fashioned compression bandage and a small box of pills in one hand, and a glass of water in the other. “I’ll just quickly bind your foot and then if you take two of these now I’ll be back with two more tomorrow.” 

Matty quickly wrapped Robert’s foot and handed him the glass of water, allowing Robert to drink from his first non-plastic cup in Aaron didn’t know how long. Finally, Matty gathered up his tray and walked towards the cell door. 

“Thank you,” Robert said. 

Matty turned around and smiled. “You’re welcome.” The cell door closed behind him, and Aaron made to follow Matty and return to his post when Robert’s voice stopped him. 

“It goes for you too,” Robert said. Aaron turned around and saw him swallow hard. “Thank you for helping me.” 

“It’s nothing,” Aaron said. 

“Not to me it isn’t,” Robert countered. “I don’t even want to know what you think of me, what they’re saying on the news…” Robert’s voice drifted off and Aaron didn’t reply. He knew what was being said. It wasn’t good, and lying wouldn’t help him. “All the lies they are spreading…” The words were barely uttered, but Aaron heard them nonetheless. Robert’s eyes were fixed on the floor, unfocused as he took a deep breath and then another, trying to calm whatever storm was brewing inside him. By the time Robert looked back up at Aaron, his eyes were cold and hard and all emotions was gone, hidden behind a carefully crafted, cold and calculated facade that made Aaron doubt the vulnerability he saw just a few seconds earlier. 

“I’ll have Matty come back in a few days and check on the bandages, yeah?” Aaron said. 

Robert nodded, eyes glued to his hands which rested in his lap.

Aaron looked at Robert a few seconds longer before turning around and exiting the cell and walking back to the kitchen. As he turned the corner he saw Cain, his arms folded over his chest and a sour look on his face. 

 

The news cycle was a constant stream of Robert Sugden, it had been for months now; his face, his background, his crime described in heart-wrenching detail, his charges, the date of his trial. It was a deluge of repeated information, of vitriol spouted from perfectly made-up faces, and Aaron sat watching it, letting the words and accusations sink in as his hands intertwined and elbows rested on his knees. 

“You know what he’s in for,” Cain said, arms as ever crossed over his chest. “We only got the government contract because we were the only vessel close enough to the Space Station with enough fuel to make the journey. If it gets out that we are helping Sugden -” 

“Cain, the man is in chains in a glass cell with constant surveillance. He can’t scratch his arse without us knowing it,” Aaron countered, interrupting Cain. “You knew I was against this job, you were yourself. I’m not going to treat him like he isn’t human.” 

Cain glared at him, eyes cold. He took a deep breath and then another. “We don’t want to be seen as sympathisers. He is the most hated man in the solar-system. All eyes are on us.” He ran a hand over his face, and Aaron sighs. 

“I know Cain, but I also know what it is like in prison. He’s going there anyway but right now, he’s innocent in my eyes.” 

“How can you say that?” Cain asked. “You’ve been going on about Earth since you were a little boy…” 

Aaron got up and walked over to Cain until he stood right in front of him, inches from his face. “I know what he did Cain,” Aaron said, voice low. “I’m not defending him, or ignoring it. But I’m not going to treat him like an animal either. If you don’t like it, you shouldn’t have put me in charge of this.” 

Cain just looked at him before lifting his thumb to his mouth and biting at his nail. He nodded, and turned around. “Talk to me before you decide to do anything ridiculous again, yeah?” 

Cain waited long enough to see Aaron nod before he left. It was as good as Aaron was going to get, a subtle acceptance of his actions, but Aaron knew that no matter what, Cain had final say. He turned back to the screen and watched as Robert Sugden’s face was shown in the top right corner, a very different Robert Sugden to the one he knew. This one was arrogant, with a smug smile on his lips and a gleam in his eye - it was the picture of him on TERRA’s official website after his employment, where he had had his future in front of him. 

The coverage shifted, showing the leader of TERRA, Lawrence White being interviewed about the incident. He was dressed in a grey suit with no tie, and Aaron turned up the sound to listen. “It was a malicious attack on everything we stand for. Dr Addyman was a fine scientist about to make a major discovery concerning carbon recycling and Dr Sugden killed her ruthlessly. The motives I can only imagine; it is not human to be prone to such evil…” 

How could someone do it? How could someone murder their brother’s wife, their colleague, in such a disgusting way? How could someone attempt to sabotage the only chance humanity had of returning to Earth? It made Aaron’s skin crawl - whoever could do it would need to have a murderous heart and a mind as dark as the blackest hole. 

The Robert Sugden currently sitting in the cell not 50 meters from where Aaron was sitting seemed like a completely different person. Aaron glanced at his watch and pressed a button, immediately changing the screen in front of him to a stream of Robert’s cell camera. He was lying on his bed, one chained hand underneath his head, the other lying on his stomach - he couldn’t get them further apart if he tried. His arrogance was gone, replaced by a sadness Aaron felt haunted him at night. As if he was resigned to his fate, a shell of the person he was.

It was too much. Aaron walked over towards the screen and with the press of a button, the silent figure was gone, and Aaron was left to stare at his own reflection. 

 

Aaron always used to take solace in the sky. As a child he would stare at the stars until the fear of his father faded, looking at the mess of bright lights and planets and hoping for more, dreaming up a future far away from his bedroom. His house had been a part of a small mining compound, where workers lived with their families and children could attend school. During the particularly bad days, he would stare up through the window in his bedroom at the sky, and wonder what lay beyond.

He would stare at the moons of Mars and imagine the people on holiday there - Phobos was the biggest tourist attraction in the known universe, with the artificial sandy beaches and luxury hotels to keep guests entertained during their stay on the plane between Stickney and Öpik. His interest didn’t lie in the turquoise water or the tanning facilities, it lay with the planet on which it sat, the large expanse of uninhabitable rock and the view it must give of Mars, and the ships that ferried people to and fro. 

As he grew older he grew increasingly fascinated with the unending possibilities of space, unexplored planets and unchartered territory that filled his vision as he stared up at the sky, hoping for a glimpse of the secrets they contained. While staying with his mother he got a chance to work on Cain’s ship whenever it was docked, but she crossed her arms and told him he was too young to join the crew.

Even during his small stint in prison he would use the sky as his escape, studying the constellations and the planets until he could almost imagine travelling from one to the other. 

Now he stood at the window in the cockpit, staring at space while the ship passed seamlessly through it. The cockpit was empty apart from him - Moira must be asleep or eating - and this was the view Aaron enjoyed the most on the entire ship. 

He looked out with his arms crossed over his chest, counting the stars around, looking at them as they disappeared. 

“You alright?” a voice asked behind him. He turned around to see Moira standing in the doorway, a cup of coffee in her hand. 

Aaron turned back to the view and shrugged. “Why d’you ask?”

She walked over, boots clinging on the metal floor, and put her cup down on the dashboard. “You always come here when you need to think. Even when we were docked at your mum’s I’d find you in here, looking out at the sky.” She put a hand on his shoulder and he turned around. “I know you don’t like this gig, I don’t like it either…” 

Aaron bit his lip and thought back to Robert’s bruised torso, his sprained ankle, the crime of which he was accused. “I just… I remember being locked up, I hated it.” 

Moira moved over and sat down in her chair, turning to face him while he stood facing the expanse of nothingness that surrounded them. “I can’t imagine what that feels like, Aaron. I know it’s tough but you can always talk to me, okay?” 

Aaron turned around. “He just - how could he do it?” 

Moira let out a breath and shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess until the trial we won’t really know why he did it; money, power, glory? People are terrible for many reasons.” 

“I know,” Aaron muttered. He ran a hand over his face. 

Moira sighed. “It’ll be over soon. We’ll hand him over to the government and get our money and we can all take a long break,” she said.

Aaron nodded. “Let Cain know I want to see him; Sugden needs a shower and a change of clothes.”

Moira smiled. “I will do,” she said. “Now go and talk to Matty.” 

With a nod he walked out of the cockpit. He wanted it to stop, wanted his mind to shut down and his thoughts to disappear. Most of all, he wanted to sleep throughout the night and not have his thoughts control him like this. He walked through the ship until he stood in front of the door to Matty’s office.

The medic unit of the ship was a small room next to Matty’s small sleeping quarters. It was as grey as the rest of the ship, but had a blaring white light directly above a small metal cot upon which Matty could perform the simplest procedures. It smelled only a little of ethanol and medication, and Matty had made it slightly more comfortable with the addition of some pictures of his family, including one of Aaron’s mum.

Matty was sitting in a chair doing some paperwork when Aaron knocked on the door and stuck his head in. He turned around and smiled as he saw Aaron’s face. 

“Alright mate?” he asked, setting down his pen. 

Aaron walked in and leaned on the cot, arms still crossed over his chest. “I’ve been having some trouble sleeping,” he admitted. 

Matty’s face betrayed no surprise at the statement. “Right, so you want something to help you fall asleep?” 

Aaron nodded. “If you can,” he said. 

Matty got up and started rummaging in a small cupboard containing various bottles that rattled as he touched them. “Anything in particular keeping you up?” he asked. 

Aaron knew there was, but he also knew he couldn’t put words to it, couldn’t explain it other than a knot and a dull ache and a worry that filled his mind as soon as the lights were switched off. “I don’t know,” he said. “Just got a lot on my mind, I guess.” 

Matty pulled out a small bottle and made a contented sound. “This should do it,” he said. “Take one about 20 minutes before falling asleep, and it should knock you out. No more than one, mind.” 

Aaron nodded. “Thanks,” he said. 

“No worries,” Matty replied. “Look, if it’s something bothering you it might help to talk about it, yeah? Otherwise I’m just treating the symptom, and not the cause.” 

Aaron smiled. “Thanks, Matty. I’ll think about it,” he said. 

“Good,” Matty said. “Dinner?”

Aaron looked at his watch and realised how hungry he was. “Yeah, let’s eat.” 

 

Marlon was incredibly talented at turning the most boring, rationed, hydrated foods into something quite edible. Whether it was insect patties, hydrated chicken, or a concoction of veggies that gave away no sign of its actual contents, the crew would sit down and it eat and never complained. 

In the evenings dinner was served at 7 pm; due to the differing tasks of everyone on board, they were almost never all gathered, but those who could would join Marlon in the small kitchen and sit down for a meal. It made them feel like a proper family, Aaron remembered thinking when he first joined. Of course, they all were family in one form or another. 

Currently, Adam and Holly were sitting next to each other on one side of the table, and Ross sat on the other with Debbie. It was no secret that Debbie and Ross were sleeping together, but seeing them sitting next to each other was different, a more open display of affection. Marlon stood up and got two plates ready, while Matty slid in beside Debbie and Aaron beside Adam. 

“Alright?” Adam asked. Holly grabbed some salt from the middle of the table and added to her plate. 

“Yeah, you?” Aaron replied. 

“Just finished my shift outside Sugden’s cell,” Adam said. “He didn’t move, as per…” 

“Bit weird, innit?” Holly asked. “Him never moving.” 

“Isn’t exactly fun to move with a fractured rib and a swollen ankle,” Matty replied. 

Debbie looked up. “You tended to him, then?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” Matty said with a cautious glance at Aaron. “The man looked like he was in pain and it’s my job to do it.” 

“Better to let him stew in it,” Ross chimed in between mouthfuls. “Not like he’ll be better off in six months’ time.” 

Aaron took a bit of his dinner - a lentil soup that only had the slight taste of rehydration - and tried to ignore the conversation around him. 

“When’s the trial?” Marlon asked. 

“We’ve got about six months’ of travel to go, so I’d guess a few weeks after that,” Adam replied. “They won’t want to drag this out.” 

“Good,” Debbie said. “Get him in prison as soon as possible if you ask me.” 

There was a general murmur of consent from around the table. 

Aaron knew he should agree. A part of him wanted Robert Sugden locked up for what he did but there was another part of him, a part couldn’t help but think something was off, something didn’t fit, and it was growing. 

“Prison’s going to suit him,” said Adam. “He’ll be surrounded by other murderers.” 

“If they let him live,” Holly said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this got him the death penalty.” 

Aaron set his spoon down harder than necessary, sending a loud clang out through the room. Everyone paused, and stared at him. 

“You sure you’re alright?” Adam asked. Aaron saw the look Matty shot him and couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Can we stop talking about it?” he said, voice laced with anger. 

Holly and Debbie nodded, while Ross shrugged. “Sorry,” Adam murmured, eyes fixed on his plate. Marlon just looked downcast. 

Silence ensued, only broken up by the sound of forks scraping on plates, and chewing. Aaron ate as quickly as possible before he got up and placed his bowl in the sink. 

Aaron paced the ship, walking around the edge of the ship, following the window beyond which stars passed them by. He couldn’t ignore it anymore - the nagging feeling in his mind, the lump in his throat and the knot in his stomach. He kept walking, listening to the echo of his steps, the rhythm of it calming him down as he timed his breaths with each fourth step. He had walked without direction but when he looked up his breath caught in his throat. Robert Sugden was looking right at him, one eyebrow raised, his expression a myriad of questions. 

Aaron walked over until he stood in front of the glass by Sugden’s cell, staring right at him. He looked terrible still, despite his change of clothes and his healed bruises. He looked exhausted, run down. But then he smiled for just a second, and it forced Aaron to start breathing again. 

Before Aaron could stop himself, he walked over to the door and punched in the code. The glass door opened and Aaron stepped through, keeping his distance from Robert Sugden. He knew that was the smart thing to do.

“How could you do it?” Aaron asked. 

Robert looked at him and Aaron saw something in his eyes shatter and drift away; it was the carefully crafted mask he had been wearing for months that suddenly disappeared, and Aaron was left to stare at Robert Sugden with tears in his eyes. 

“All I know comes from the streams. The news is constantly running stories about you, showing pictures of the woman you -” Aaron gulped and took a breath. 

“You have clearly made up your mind about me,” Robert said. His voice was monotonous. 

“What else should I think?” Aaron asked. 

Aaron stood a few feet away from him, but not far enough to not see the hurt in his eyes. Where there once was defiance there was now a deep sadness. “Do I seem like a man who would murder his brother’s wife?” 

Aaron didn’t flinch when he spoke. “No, you don’t.”

The result was instantaneous: Robert’s shoulders sagged and a single tear rolled down his cheek. He let out a shuddering breath and lifted a manacled hand to wipe the tear away. 

“What day is it?” Robert asked.

“What?” Aaron stared at him quizzically. “Why?”

“What day is it?” Robert asked. 

“May 23rd,” Aaron replied. “Why?”

Robert let out a long breath. “Next they’ll be saying that the CO 2  levels have stabilised after implementing a Carbon Capture process as well as genetically modified tree-growth in ordered facilities, despite an increase in average surface temperature.” Robert’s voice was mechanical as he listed them off, but Aaron realised quite quickly what he was hearing.

“Why are you telling me this?” Aaron asked. 

Robert sighed and looked him right in the eye. “So you’ll trust me,” he said. “Watch the news and listen… it’ll be in the next report, mark my words.”

Aaron stared at him, the plea in his voice and the desperation in his intertwined hands and left without another word. 

 

Aaron stayed away. His shift was far off and even if he was in charge of Robert’s security, there wasn’t any chance of him escaping; not with the motion sensors in his cell. Aaron’s mind was too cluttered and he knew he needed to think straight, be smart; believing an accused criminal was not smart, not by a long shot.

Why wouldn’t he try to convince the world of his innocence when he was about to be accused of treason and sentenced to live out his life in prison. Everyone was already decided on him, everyone made him out to be the villain in the story. 

Aaron remembered learning about Earth as a child. There were endless videos and pictures and accounts from people who survived up until humanity relocated to Mars, books written about the relocation, both true and fictional, movies detailing the story of the heroes who humanity had to leave behind. It was a compulsory part of any school curriculum, but that didn’t make it any less interesting. Pictures showed seas of green and blue, a wider variety of animals than Aaron could have ever imagined; interviews with people who had lived on Earth were played to remind humanity of their mistakes. Thee concept of a breeze was described as something that could never be properly experienced without living it. Air-conditioning and the artificial air that passed through the ships and residences on Mars just weren’t the same, according to those who had experienced both. 

Earth was a permanent fixture of human history, and Aaron remembered longingly looking out of the window and wanting to see it for himself, wanting to go back somehow; it was a longing that engulfed him, ended up stearing most decisions in Aaron’s life. When Cain had given him a chance to work on his ship Aaron had jumped at the opportunity, and seeing Earth for the first time had been one of the most important experiences in Aaron’s life. According to his teachers at school, everyone felt that need to return home, to get back what was lost. Looking at the barren planet through the wide windows of the Akadia had only made that longing worse; it was a homesickness that could never be cured. 

Aaron stared at a picture he had on his wall. It was of a green field smattered with spots of red, a line of trees in the background and people walking along a field - it was an old painting called Poppies at Argenteuil by some Terran painter called Monet that Aaron had studied at school. It looked as alien to him now as it did when he was a child; all colour and no russet sand or sharp sunshine. It was soft, the grass looked soft and the air somehow looked soft too, clouds filling sky and casting a beautiful light onto the grassy field. A sadness filled him, the same sadness as filled him everytime he looked at that painting. A sadness and an anger at the world, at the civilisation that lead to humanity destroying their home. If this was the world, he did not like being a part of it. 

Mars was supposed to be temporary. Humans had lived there for 126 years now, Earth had been uninhabitable for 128 years, and yet people still hoped. The longing was universal. 

Mars only functioned because of air generators and purifiers that helped keep O 2  levels at 20%, because there were systems in place to gather human waste which in turn helped in food production and plant growth. UN-driven and paid for by everyone; taxes were high but so was the cost of keeping humanity alive. It was all an intricate system built to ensure humans could survive until the point where humanity could return. 

There was a reason TERRA was so important, was only handled by the most well-educated and intelligent scientists. It was the only hope they had of ever returning. 

Robert Sugden had made that less possible. That was what all the news outlets, all the briefings and the interviews with scientists said. Robert Sugden had failed humanity by killing the Lead Scientist in TERRA. 

Aaron bit his lip as he contemplated this for the 50th time. Over and over again the facts ran around his head, over and over again he thought of what Robert was accused of, knew the immense weight of it. Yet that fraction of uncertainty still remained; the uncertainty of his guilt, of his part to play in what had happened. He stared at the painting set on his wall with four strips of tape until his head hurt, and he turned off the light to sleep. 

 

Ross was sitting at the breakfast table, oiled fingers holding the metal cutlery as he ate. Ross ate loudly - in fact, Ross did most things loudly, his presence was not one to miss, whether enjoyable or incredibly annoying. Aaron picked up a cup of coffee from the machine, a bowl of porridge Marlon had prepared, and joined Ross at the table. The news was on in the background, a low thrum of monologue that Ross turned down as Aaron had joined the room. 

Ross grunted in greeting and Aaron nodded. 

“You been up all night?” Aaron asked with a look at Ross’ hands. 

He looked up. “Fuel chamber needed a fix up, and suddenly it was morning,” he said. “Not that the sun was any indication.” 

The days on Mars were just an hour longer than the days on Earth, so sunrises and sunsets were a relatively good indicator of time. On ships, however, there was no such circadian indicator. Most people had lamps that could emulate sunlight in the mornings but some people just ran on their own sleep schedules, regardless of time. Aaron had realised during the first few weeks of his job on the Akadia that sunrise was something that should never be artificial - he kept to normal day times but did it with an annoying alarm and a close watch on the clock.

“Get it done?” he asked. 

Ross nodded. “I always do,” he said. 

Aaron lifted a spoonful of porridge. 

“Must be weird,” Ross said. 

“What?”

“Having Sugden here, in prison. After what you went through…” 

Aaron’s spoon froze halfway in the air. “Why?” he asked. 

“I’m just saying, you being in prison all those years ago… can’t be fun being on the other side of it, though I guess it’s better than being inside.” Ross’ expression was not one Aaron could read. 

“I guess,” Aaron said. “It isn’t exactly what I find interesting cargo.” 

Ross let out a small chuckle. “Not like that transport of gin distilled on the Moon we had last year, d’you remember?” 

Aaron smiled. They’d been given a batch as part of their payment and the nights they’d had had been, well… forgettable. “This isn’t like that, no.” 

“At least this one’s guilty, unlike you were.” Ross slurped as he drank the last dregs on his coffee. “Right, I’m going to hit the sack. Later,” Ross said. Aaron gave a small nod as Ross left the kitchen. 

“ _ The UN joint Commision on Mars has decided to allow for mining of the asteroids between Mars and Venus as a water supply to supplement that which is reused in all Mars bubbles. And now, news from TERRA; the latest reports say that the CO _ _ 2  _ _ levels have stabilised after implementing a Carbon Capture process as well as genetically modified tree-growth in ordered facilities, despite an increase in average surface temperature. Low CO _ _ 2 _ _ levels are optimal for the Earth’s atmosphere, although we may be a while off getting back. Scientists remain hopeful though, and continue their work to make Earth habitable once again.”  _

Aaron didn’t even realise he was listening until the words came out of the news reader’s mouth, a word for word recitation of what Robert had said. The spoon in Aaron’s hand clattered to the table as the doubt in his mind grew with every second. There was no reason to doubt the charges, no reason except… how would Robert know what they would be saying? Robert had been held prisoner for weeks in a locked room on TERRA before they got him onto the ship, and that was three months ago. 

Aaron cleaned his bowl and set it in the steriliser before checking the time; Holly would be ending her shift soon, and Aaron couldn’t talk to him, not while there was a guard. He was next on the schedule. For now, all he had to do was sit and think. 

 

“Hiya,” Aaron said as he approached Holly, who stood in front of Robert’s cell. Her face lit up as she saw him, eyes shining. 

“Hi,” she said. “My shift’s finally over is it?” she asked.

Aaron nodded, looking at his watch. “At least, it is in fifteen minutes. Thought I’d hear how it went.” 

Holly shrugged, smiling. “Was fine, he’s as quiet as ever. He even spoke today, said thank you when Adam brought him his breakfast.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. Robert speaking wasn’t strange, not to him. He swallowed. “I can take over for you now, if you want.” 

“Really?” she asked. “Great, I’ll go and bring Mum some lunch then. Thanks!” She walked over and hugged him.

“No problem,” he said. “See you later for movie night?”

She nodded. “Adam’s got some ridiculous old movie he wants us to watch, apparently it’s all about space travel. Should be hilarious,” she said with a grin. 

With that she waved and rounded the corner, leaving Aaron alone with him. 

Aaron glanced in through the glass wall, and found Robert’s eyes fixed on him; Aaron could almost see his brain working, thinking. Planning. 

With a press of a few buttons, Aaron opened the door to Robert’s cell, and walked in. 

“She seemed very friendly with you,” Robert asked with a sly smile. “Something there?” 

Aaron took a few steps and waited until the door was closed before speaking. 

“How did you know?” Aaron asked. 

“I’m guessing that’s her brother that was here earlier, but as far as I can tell, you’re not in the family, so…” Robert said, dragging out the last word and smirking like he had anything figured out. 

“How did you know?” Aaron asked again, raising his voice.  

Robert’s expression changed from curious to triumphant. “I guess you watched the news then,” Robert replied, a small smile on his face. Aaron narrowed his eyes.  

“Those reports are released every two months, and you’ve been on here for three and locked up for much longer, how did you have access to that?” Aaron pushed. The smile on Robert’s face fell.

“Because I read that report months ago. They’ve got a backlog, they’ve planned out months in advance on how to tell their lies,” Robert replied. “I found it before -” He stopped, shaking his head. “It’s a part of their plan,” Robert ended.

“What plan?” Aaron asked. He had too many questions he wanted to blurt out but he had to be careful - he had to be smart. 

“They’re lying, Aaron. They have been for years. Lawrence White found out years ago that the Earth is completely uninhabitable. It’ll be millenia before anything can live on that planet again, and instead of telling the truth about it, they’re lying and pocketing all the money for themselves,” Robert said. 

Aaron let out a laugh. “You expect me to believe that?” 

“I’m telling the truth,” Robert said calmly.

Aaron listened, mouth open and mind reeling. “You’re lying,” he said. 

“They killed Katie for it, and locked me up because they knew she had told me, Aaron.” Robert’s eyes were wide, pleading. It couldn’t be true. 

“I’ve just read up on it - all news outlets say the same thing, overall the research suggests the surface of Earth is slowly becoming habitable again,” Aaron said. “If they were tampering surely someone would find out! There are systems in place, TERRA is run by the government!”

“Of course the news says that, they get their info from TERRA’s bi-monthly reports,” Robert countered. “Don’t you think Lawrence White has got money siphoned off to whoever is checking their numbers, making sure no one talks? There’s a reason the experiments are never made public, it all goes through TERRA. It’s all a scam, and I’m going down for it.” 

“It can’t be!” Aaron exclaimed, emotions overtaking him. “It can’t be a scam,” he repeated, voice much lower. “That would mean that…” 

Robert let the implications of his words sink in. Aaron stared at him, seeing nothing. “It would mean,” Robert said after a while, “that the whole human existence is being lied to, that the Earth might not become habitable for us ever again, that…”

“That the dream is dead,” Aaron finished. Robert nodded, and with that Aaron let out a breath. Aaron dragged a chair over, pulled it up in front of Robert, and sat down. “Why did you tell me?”

Robert sighed, staring at the floor. “I don’t know, I -” He met Aaron’s eye and smiled sadly. “I guess I figured if I’m going down for this, I wanted to tell someone I was innocent. I don’t want to be remembered as a murderer, and this way I won’t be. At least not by you.” 

Aaron swallowed and held Robert’s gaze for longer than he should. If Robert was telling the truth, it changed everything for Aaron. He had no idea of knowing whether he was.

Aaron caught sight of his watch and cursed. “I need to go, Debbie’ll be here with your lunch soon. She can’t see me in here.” Aaron got up and turned around.

“Aaron.” Robert spoke his name with such emotion that Aaron couldn’t help but look at him again. “Do you believe me?” he asked. His eyes were open, honest, heartbreakingly desperate. 

He needed to wrap his head around this, needed to research and think and try to reconcile his head with his gut. Aaron saw the hope disappear from Robert’s gaze with every passing second and it made his chest ache. Aaron swallowed. Robert’s expression forced him to say exactly what he was thinking: “I don’t know.”

“You can ask me any question you want,” Robert said. 

Aaron checked the time again and sighed. “Let me think, okay? I need to go.” He turned around and stepped outside, taking up his spot beside the cell entrance and waiting.

Aaron smiled as Debbie arrived with a small tray, on which sat a plate containing what looked like rice and beans. Aaron smiled as she punched in the code and walked inside, hoping it masked the thoughts going through his head. Aaron smiled as she walked back, repeated her goodbye back to her. As soon as she rounded the corner, Aaron counted down from 20 and then walked back into the cell. 

Aaron pulled the chair back in front of Robert. “Tell me everything,” he said. 

Robert took a moment to think before talking: “I started working there about six years ago, straight after getting my Ph.D from Mars Technical University. I worked my way up until I was working right under Katie, and we worked well together. I’ve always loved Earth, not just the idea of it but the chemistry of a system as complex as Earth, how we ruined it, leaving traces in not just the soil but the oceans and the air… I loved my job,” he said, hands wringing under the table. “I didn’t realise they were lying to us until…” 

“Until what?” Aaron asked. His elbows rested on his knees, eyes boring into Robert. 

“Katie found out. She saw an anomaly in the data, a repetition of a series of numbers in different data sets over time. She went to Lawrence about it and he told her the machine must be faulty, made up some random excuse. She came to me, told me the exact same thing. We had my brother check the equipment and found nothing physically wrong with it, and then I checked the code. There was a command, one I couldn’t change, with an algorithm that periodically altered the data and after turning it over in my head I realised it was supposed to change the data to make it seem like our experiments showed positive results, repeating the same sequence with shifting intervals - something no one would normally realise but Katie was thorough.” 

Robert took a deep breath, mind retreating into some distant memory. “I remember her telling me she wanted to go and check the numbers herself, so she went back to the lab in the dead of night, put on her Atmosphere Suit, and went out to check…” Robert’s voice was emotional, his chin wobbling just a little. Closed his eyes. “As far as I know, that’s when they locked her out and left her to die. The next morning I woke up to armed guards rushing in to my room, pulling me out of bed, and throwing me in jail.”  Robert sighed. “And here we are.” 

Aaron let out a deep breath. “How are they getting away with this?” 

Robert’s eyes widened at Aaron’s words. “I told you,” he said. “They’ve got people in their pockets, it’s not like they don’t have enough money to do that…” 

Aaron got up and paced around the room. “You’ve got to tell people,” he said. 

“No one’ll believe me, Aaron. I haven’t seen the news and I still know they are milking this for all they can, painting me as the villain, the murderer, the man who set back humanity…” Robert ran a hand through his hair. “There’s nothing I can do,” he said, defeated. 

Their eyes met and Aaron truly felt the grimness of the position Robert was in. Robert was stuck, the whole of humankind working against him, with no one on his side. Aaron looked at Robert until his gaze dropped to the floor, the emotions in Robert’s eyes becoming unbearable to look at any longer.

With that, Aaron put the chair back in its place and left the cell, taking up his place in front of the entrance. He kept his eyes staring ahead, forced himself to ignore the burning sensation of Robert looking at him through the glass dividing them. 


	2. Part 2

Aaron sat on the bed in his room, biting the nail on his left thumb.

The conversation was still swimming in his mind, revelations and accusations, and at the centre of it was Robert Sugden. It was all he could think about, his mind going back to it as soon as he woke up and repeating what was said as he fell asleep. It was starting to consume him, silently taking up so much space in his life. If what Robert said was true, it changed everything. Aaron sighed at the thought, ran a hand over his face. 

There was a knock on his door. Aaron looked up and saw Adam leaning on his doorway, arms crossed over his chest. 

“Something happen?” Aaron asked. 

Adam shook his head before taking a step into the room. “Just thought I’d stop by, have a chat. Haven’t seen you for a few days,” he said. He pulled out the chair from Aaron’s desk and set it in front of Aaron, sitting down. “You alright?” he asked. 

“What do you mean?” Aaron asked.

“You’ve been distant, distracted, ever since that meal a few weeks ago… is something wrong? Everything alright with Chas and Liv?” Adam asked.

Aaron nodded. “Had a message from them earlier. Liv’s doing alright in school and Chas is busy with the bar…” Aaron trailed off. 

“I’m just saying, whatever it is you can talk to me, yeah?” Adam said. “I know you are used to bottling it, but I’m your mate, you can tell me anything.” 

Aaron met his eye. “Thanks mate,” he said. “I’m sorry I’ve been weird.”

Adam smiled. “It’s alright, just hard not to notice when we’re all trapped on a ship together.” 

That was the danger; if Adam had noticed it was only a matter of time before the others on the ship noticed. Aaron couldn’t have that, didn’t know if they ever should find out. He needed to be even more careful from here on out. 

“Want to go have a coffee?” Aaron asked. 

The smile on Adam’s face grew enough that Aaron knew that was the right thing to say. “Yeah, let’s do it man.” 

 

Aaron walked towards the cell, a cup in each hand, careful not to spill. 

He hadn’t slept, and it was almost morning. The coffee was warm and black - Aaron didn’t know how Robert liked it - and steam rose from both cups. Aaron guessed it had been a while since Robert had a cup of coffee. 

Aaron had to set a cup on the floor to open the door, and at the sound of the door clicking open, Robert sat up. His hair was a mess and his eyes were slightly red, but he smiled at the sight of Aaron. His smile grew when he saw the cups. 

“What’s this?” he asked. 

“Thought you might like a cup of coffee,” Aaron said. “I put some sugar in one and left the other one black, which one do you want?” 

Robert didn’t hesitate to say: “Black, please.” Aaron reaches forward and places the cup in Robert’s hand. “Thank you,” he says with a smile. 

“No problem,” Aaron says. 

Robert took a sip of his coffee and hummed in enjoyment. His head tipped back against the glass wall and his face was the picture of contentment. 

“Good?” Aaron asked. 

Robert nodded, grinning. “I can’t remember the last time I had coffee,” he said. 

“This is just the freeze-dried stuff,” Aaron admitted. 

Robert shrugged. “I haven’t had proper coffee beans in years, freeze-dried was the standard at TERRA.” Coffee beans could only be grown on a remote colony on Deimos, which was where most luxury items were grown; coffee, tea, grassy plains for real cows. The beef they ate on the ship was laboratory grown - Aaron had never tasted the real thing. Aaron had always assumed they had the best of the best on TERRA, but apparently not. “Only Lawrence got the real stuff,” Robert added, his smile turning sour. He shook it off and took another sip. 

“How long have I got left?” Robert asked. 

Aaron thought for a second, before replying: “Four months and three days left on this ship,” he said. “Mars and Earth were quite distant when we started the journey, so it’s taking a while to get there.” 

Robert nodded. “Four months,” he echoed sadly. “It’s a long time to sit doing nothing.” 

Aaron looked at the spot next to Robert on the bed, and after considering, sat down next to him. The manacles that tied Robert were hanging from the wall on the other side. “What do you do in here?” Aaron asked. 

“Think, mostly.” Robert sighed. “I plan my escape,” he said with a smile on his face. Aaron laughed. “Mostly I just think about what happened, what I should have done, how this’ll all end.” 

“Sounds maddening,” Aaron replied. Aaron had enough trouble as it was with his own thoughts; Robert was literally shackled to them. 

Robert met his eye. “I suppose it keeps me sane, knowing I’m innocent… that or I’ve already gone mad,” he quipped. 

“I might be able to talk to Cain, get you a book or something?” Aaron asked. 

Robert’s eyes went wide. “You’d do that?” he asked. 

Aaron nodded. “Don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to read a book,” Aaron said. 

Robert smiled at him, and Aaron couldn’t help but smile back. “Thank you, Aaron.” 

Aaron nodded in reply, and took a sip of his cup. 

The question bubbled in his chest; a question that had been growing since he first understood what Earth was, what home meant. He looked at Robert and asked: “What’s it like?”

Robert looked up. “What is what like?” he asked. 

“Earth,” Aaron said. He fixed his eyes on Robert’s waiting for the reply. Now spoken, Aaron couldn’t help but hold his breath for the answer. 

Robert smiled slightly. “It’s beautiful,” he said, before continuing, “and terrible. I spent all my life working towards getting there, working there… When it finally happened, I couldn’t believe it. It looks nothing like I ever imagined.” He lifted his legs at rested his arms on his knees, head resting against the cold glass. “The ground is just a vast desert; the few animals that have survived have adapted to the atmosphere, they are nothing like I was told, not anymore. The plant growth has changed too, adapting to the strength of the sun’s rays to look almost brown.” Robert let out a sigh and looked at his knees. “It breaks your heart almost, seeing what we did. Can’t help but wonder if Earth is better off without us coming back, you know?” 

Aaron turned his head and stared at the metal ceiling. “Probably is,” he agreed. It was a reality he was starting to digest, but that didn’t make it any easier. 

“I’ll tell you one thing though,” Robert said, a smile on his face. “The sunsets are beautiful, even in the polluted atmosphere. The sky is set on fire, a mess of reds and oranges and pinks. First time I saw it, it took my breath away. It did every time.” 

Aaron didn’t know what to say; Robert had experienced something he had dreamt of witnessing as long as he could remember. It made him feel lost. 

“Why?” Robert asked, breaking Aaron out of his reverie.

“I’ve just always wanted to go, always wanted to see it for myself,” he said before casting his eyes down. “I guess I never will.” When he met Robert’s eye again, he was smiling sadly. “I was so sure, you know? That I would get to see it one day, that I would get to go back.” 

“Yeah,” Robert said. Silence settled between them, letting Aaron think. “I’m sorry,” Robert said. 

“You don’t have to be,” Aaron replied. “Not your fault, is it?” 

“No,” Robert said with a small chuckle. “I suppose not.” 

Aaron looked down at his almost empty cup and then looked at his watch. Holly would arrive soon for her shift. “I should go soon,” Aaron said. 

Robert nodded. He glanced at his cup and drained it, slowly, as if savouring every last drop. “Thank you,” he said. 

Aaron drained his own cup and got up, taking Robert’s from his hand. The chain clattered against the metal bed as he moved it. “Your breakfast should be arriving soon,” Aaron said. He took a second before saying: “You probably shouldn’t mention this, yeah?” 

Robert smiled. “My lips are sealed,” he said, and Aaron couldn’t help but share his secret smile. 

 

Cain looked up as Aaron rapped his knuckles against the metal doorframe of his office. As his eyes found Aaron, they narrowed, and he set his screen aside. With a raise of an eyebrow, Aaron knew he could enter. 

“I was thinking about getting Sugden something to read, a book or something,” Aaron said. This garnered another raised eyebrow. “He’s got another four months and I don’t think the court will appreciate him arriving and having gone mental from the isolation,” Aaron continued. It was a stretch, but the smile on Robert’s face when he had suggested it was still fresh in Aaron’s memory. 

“Right,” Cain said, leaning back and looking pensive. “How do you want to do that?” 

Aaron shrugged. “I haven’t used my reader in a while, figured I could lend it to him. It’s not like I’m a big reader,” he said. 

Cain let out a breath. He got up from his chair and walked in front of his desk, resting on the edge of it. “Access to the Mars network’ll be switched off?” Cain asked. 

“Yeah, ‘course.” Aaron crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll make it so that he can’t contact anyone, there should be a network scrambler in Ross’ stash, I’ll set it up.” 

Cain gave him a look, more piercing than Aaron had expected, and nodded. “Alright,” he said, “let me know when you’ve got it up and running.” 

Aaron smiled. “Will do,” he said, and walked away. 

True enough, Ross had a scrambler sitting in his desk, and with a glance from Cain he installed it. The next day Aaron walked into the cell holding his old reader. 

“I don’t know what type of books you’re into, but I’ve taken a few popular ones down on this one. You know the network connection has been scrambled so you can’t use this to contact anyone, but there are about 20 books on here now,” Aaron said. He held it out for Robert to take, and he did so, slowly moving his arm as if waiting for Aaron to say no, to take it away. 

“Thank you,” Robert said, his hands now holding Aaron’s reader. “I can’t thank you enough.” 

Aaron smiled. “No problem,” he said. “I hope I’ve got something you like on this.” 

“Anything that’ll keep me busy is excellent,” Robert said. “Really, Aaron. Thank you.” 

The rough and rigid Robert was replaced with a gesture as simple as smiling. His eyes shone as he looked at the contents. “Lord of the Rings?” Robert asked, eyebrow raised. 

“It’s a classic, isn’t it?” Aaron replied. 

Robert laughed. “It’s also 200 years old… I read it as a child,” he said. “Might be time to revisit.” 

Aaron nodded. “I’ll leave you to it then,” he said. 

Robert looked out of the glass wall and his smile fell, making Aaron turn his head. Adam stood outside, arms crossed over his chest, his expression dangerous. Whatever Adam had seen had made him uncomfortable, made him doubt. Aaron swallowed, and walked outside the cell, waiting to meet his friend until the sound-proof glass was closed. 

Adam was waiting for him as he turned around, carefully eyeing Aaron. 

“You’re doing a lot for this guy,” he commented. 

Aaron rolled his eyes in an attempt to feign ignorance. “He can’t just sit there for four months with nothing to do, he’ll go mad.” 

“Alright, I’m just saying…” his voice trailed off and he glanced at Robert over his shoulder. Robert had his knees propped up and was avidly reading. He looked more calm than Aaron could remember since he arrived. “Just be careful, yeah? He’s a master deceiver,” Adam said. 

Aaron swallowed hard, and nodded. “I’ll be careful,” he said. 

 

Aaron wasn’t careful. 

He couldn’t stop it - Robert had dislodged something in his mind, expanded Aaron’s worldview, made it impossible for him to go back. Aaron’s mind repeated what Robert said over and over again, trying to find a new angle, anything that was off. A reason to doubt. 

He kept watching Robert’s security feed, finding him reading quietly on the e-reader, eyes scanning across the page with interest. It alleviated the knot in the stomach somewhat, but his eyes couldn’t detract from the chains around his wrists.

It was evening a few days after giving Robert the e-reader the he opened his Screen and typed ‘Lawrence White’ in the search bar. Article upon article appeared on his screen about Lawrence White and his quest to save humanity - details of his recent policies and how he was changing the way TERRA tackled Earth’s climate problem, and even the scientific articles released with his name on them. Aaron clicked on the first one, an article entitled ‘Lawrence White - the Last Man on Earth’ and started reading. 

 

Aaron woke up to a loud sound reverberating through the ship. The alarm was ringing in his ears, the alarm that instantly made Aaron’s heart race. Low Oxygen levels. 

He rushed out of bed, found his trousers lying on the floor and pulled them on before running out of his room and down the corridor. The alarm signal was getting closer, and Aaron ran as fast as he could to the affected area. As he turned the corner he saw the part of the ship affected - Robert was lying on the floor, tangled in his bed sheet, gasping for air. 

Aaron punched in the code and ran through the open cell door and knelt down next to Robert. He was writhing on the floor, one hand pressed to his chest, eyes searching around the cell desperately. 

“Aaron!” Holly shouted as she ran in behind him.

“Robert,” Aaron gasped, looking around the room. He tried to move him but this pulled at the chains around Robert’s hands and Aaron swore. “Robert, I’m going to have to get you out of these handcuffs,” he said. 

Robert gasped for air, body convulsing on the floor. 

“Holly, keep an eye on him!” Aaron ran out of the cell and back to his room, grabbing the key out of his safe before running back. Cain was standing outside of the cell, hair ruffled and eyes red from sleeping too little. 

“What’s going on?” Cain shouted. 

Aaron ran through the door and Cain followed. “I don’t know!” he said. 

Holly glanced at the top left-hand corner of the cell and back at Cain.“The Oxygen recycler must be faulty.” 

Aaron ran to Robert and knelt beside him once more, grabbing Robert’s hands and holding them steady while he unlocked the cuffs. When Robert was free he lifted him up and pulled him out of the cell by his shoulders.

“What’re you doing?!” Cain yelled. 

“He’s suffocating,” Aaron said, holding Robert up by his shoulders. “I had to do something!”

“You can’t do that,” Cain protested, walking up next to Aaron. 

“Too late, now go and find Ross and get him to fix this!” Aaron said. “Sugden can’t go back in there until that recycler is fixed.” 

Cain looked back at Holly. “Get Ross here, now!”

The dead weight of Robert leaning on him was alleviated by Matty who ran up next to Aaron and lifted Robert’s right arm over his own shoulder. 

“Let’s take him to the surgery, yeah?” Matty asked. Aaron nodded. 

They pulled him through the ship, feet dragging along the floor as they wound their way towards Matty’s surgery. Matty opened the door one-handed and they shuffled inside sideways, and then precariously set Robert down on the bed in the centre. 

“I’ll have to check him for hypoxia,” Matty said. Aaron stood back and gasped for breath while Matty worked, placing an oxygen mask over Robert’s mouth and nose, and injecting him with some solution Aaron had no idea what would do. 

Aaron sat down, eyes fixed on Robert’s immobile form. “What happened?” Matty asked. 

“No idea,” Aaron said. “I woke up to the alarm same as everyone, found Sugden lying there gasping for air. His Oxygen recycler must have stopped working overnight or something…” 

Matty strapped a band to Robert’s arm and checked the screen while Aaron spoke. 

“He’ll have to be monitored,” Matty said. 

Aaron nodded. “How does it look?” he asked, hearing the concern in his voice. If Matty noticed, he didn’t let it show. 

“You got him out quickly, which is a good thing. It looks as if he wasn’t without oxygen for too long but to be safe I’ll keep him hooked up to this -” Matty stopped. Aaron turned around to see Cain standing in the doorway. 

“So he stays here?” Cain asked. He looked at Matty and then at Aaron. Matty nodded. “In that case, you’re staying here too Aaron.” 

Aaron nodded. “Don’t think he’ll make a run for it now,” he said. 

“Doesn’t matter. Constant surveillance, remember?” Cain said. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “Ross is fixing it now, he said it’ll be up and running later today. I’ll let you know when that is,” Cain said. 

Aaron stared at the floor. “Does he know why it happened?” 

“Not yet,” Cain replied, “but I’ll let you know when he does.” 

With that, Cain left. 

Matty remained a while, checking Robert for signs of low oxygen levels. Slowly, Robert opened his eyes, looking around the room and moving his body carefully. 

“Hi,” Aaron said, getting up. Matty turned around at Aaron’s voice. “You’re okay,” Aaron said. 

Robert groaned as he shifted on the bed. He lifted a hand up to take off the mask, and noticed his free hands. His eyes grew wide. “What happened?” he croaked. 

“Aaron found you in your cell. Oxygen levels had gotten too low in your cell, so he got you out and we took you here. I’m going to have to keep you under surveillance for a few hours,” Matty said. 

“Ross is fixing it,” Aaron said. “This is just until we can put you back in there.” 

Robert nodded solemnly, and then lifted the oxygen mask back up over his face. 

“See if you can get some sleep, yeah?” Matty said. 

Aaron sat back down, hands fidgeting in his lap. Soon enough Robert’s breathing evened, his chest rising and falling, his head leaning to one side. He was asleep. 

“Looks alright,” Matty said. “No signs of hypoxia, but his blood oxygen levels are a little low. They should increase in the next few hours.”

“And if they don’t?” Aaron asked. 

“Then we’ll take it from there,” Matty said. He sat down next to Aaron, leaning back. “What a night.”

Aaron nodded. He glanced over at Matty. “You can go if you want,” Aaron said. “Get some sleep.” 

Matty turned his head. “What about you?” 

Aaron shrugged. “Need to stay here,” he replied. “Doesn’t mean you should.” 

Matty thought for a second. “I’ll bring you a cup of coffee, yeah?” 

“Thanks,” Aaron said with a smile. 

Just like that, Aaron sat in Matty’s surgery, hands around the steaming cup, a sleeping figure on the bed in front of him. 

It could have gone so wrong. Aaron didn’t even want to think about what would have happened had Robert been in there longer. It would have been a tragic disaster, and Cain would have been punished severely if Robert hadn’t made it. 

Why did it matter so much? Aaron stared at Robert’s rising chest and felt a lump in his throat at the thought of finding him still, white as a sheet, sprawled on the floor of his cell. What was wrong with him? 

Robert wasn’t even a friend, he was a job for Aaron. Even with what Robert had told him, Aaron couldn’t shake the feeling that something more was going on, and it was only amplified by the anger he felt at the thought of losing him. The thought of Robert being thrown in prison forever. 

Aaron finished his coffee and put the empty cup down on the floor next to his foot. 

An hour and a half passed before Robert woke up, slowly moving his head first, and then turning his body slightly. Aaron stood up and walked over to stand beside the bed. 

“How’re you feeling?” Aaron asked. 

Robert lifted a hand to remove his mask. “Alright, my head is pounding though.” His voice was weak, breathy.

“Matty said you should stay here until he gives you the all clear. He’s gone to sleep,” Aaron said. 

“What about you?” Robert asked. 

Aaron clasped his arms behind his back. “Guard duty,” he said. 

Robert’s face fell slightly. “‘Course,” he added. He coughed a little and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Aaron saw a green tint to them that he had never spotted before. “You saved me,” Robert said. He lifted his arms and touched a hand to his free wrist. “You got me out of there.” 

“Had no choice, did I.” Aaron lifted the mask which lay on Robert’s chest, and placed it back over his face. “Rest, yeah?” 

Robert’s eyes were drooping as he nodded in agreement. 

 

Debbie arrived an hour later with two plates of food, handing them to Aaron. 

“Any news?” Aaron asked. 

She shrugged. “Ross’s working on the recycler, Cain’s pissed and Moira’s trying to calm him down… think it’ll be a few more hours until that cell’s good for anyone.” Aaron nodded. She glanced over at Robert. “How is he?”

“Fine, according to Matty.” Aaron said. “Tell Adam to get here when the cell’s ready, yeah?”

“Will do. I’ll leave you to it,” she said, closing the door behind her. 

Aaron walked over and gently placed his hand on Robert’s shoulder, waking him up. His eyes fluttered open and his breathing quickened slightly until he saw Aaron leaning over him. “What’s up?” he asked. Robert sat up, groaning slightly as he did so. Aaron stood opposite him, arms crossed over his chest, watching. His hair was a mess and he had dark circles under his eyes. 

“Food’s here,” Aaron said. “Thought you might be hungry.” 

Robert glanced over at the plate of food, and Aaron handed it to him. He lifted the plate up and brought a fork-full of food to his mouth, and as soon as he could he had another. Aaron followed suit. 

“Have you just been sitting here, watching me sleep?” Robert asked while they ate. 

Aaron laughed. “You make me sound like a creep,” he said. Robert smiled. “Yeah, I’ve been sitting here. Matty brought me some coffee, and Debbie just came by with this” he added. 

Robert nodded. “I didn’t even notice,” he said. 

“You were pretty out of it,” Aaron said. 

Robert shakes his head, smiling. “Any idea what happened?” he asked. 

Aaron shrugged, setting his now empty plated down on the floor. “All I know at the moment was that it was a recycler malfunction during the night. The alarms went off and I tried to figure out where the breach was, but then it was just in your cell,” Aaron said. 

Robert stared at his wrists, moving them around, relishing the freedom he suddenly had.

“I’ll have to put you in chains again,” Aaron said. That made Robert pause and look him directly in the eye. Aaron swallowed. 

“I know.” Robert nodded. “You could always not do it,” he added, smirking. 

Aaron let out a laugh. “As if, mate.” 

Robert smiled at that, a genuine smile that made his eyes shine.

“Thank you,” Robert said. 

“What for?” Aaron asked. He uncrossed his arms and moved closer. 

“Saving me,” Robert said. “If you hadn’t gotten me out of those chains, I probably would’ve suffocated in there.” 

Aaron shrugged. “I had to, didn’t I.” 

Robert raised an eyebrow at this. “You could’ve left me to die. I doubt anyone would have really been concerned if you had,” he said. “Maybe my sister, but other than that no one would care.” 

“Didn’t know you had a sister,” Aaron said. 

Robert shrugged and turned, setting his feet down on the floor so he was facing Aaron. “I haven’t seen her in years. One of the issues with being at TERRA, you don’t exactly get to bring your family.” 

“You’re under my protection,” he said. “While you’re here, at least. That’s my job.” 

Robert nodded. “Yeah, I guess it is.” Aaron took a step closer and Robert didn’t move. 

He looked up at noticed how close they were; Robert was only a few inches away, so close Aaron could count the freckles on his face. Aaron’s eyes rested on Robert’s lips, then flickered back up to Robert’s face. Accused criminals shouldn’t be this pretty. 

Aaron felt himself leaning in, wanting to be closer when -

“You should get me back to the cell,” Robert whispered, eyes soft. 

Aaron cleared his throat and stood back, shaking himself out of whatever was coursing through his body. “Just waiting for Adam to arrive,” he said. 

Robert nodded. “An escort of two, I must be really dangerous,” Robert said with a glint in his eye.

Aaron let out a small chuckle, and then crossed his arms over his chest again. 

Adam arrived a few minutes later and they escorted Robert back to his cell. Cain stood outside the door and watched as they approached. 

“Sugden,” he said as they walked towards the entrance. He punched in the code but paused before letting them walk in. “You know we’re going to have to chain you up again.” 

Robert nodded. “I understand,” he said. 

“No trying to get out, no trying to stop us. There’s three of us and just one of you,” Cain said. 

Robert nodded again. 

Ross stepped out from the cell, arms crossed over his chest. Robert’s eyes flickered between Cain and Ross, and Aaron saw a fear creep into his face once more. “Right, Barton. All set?” Ross nodded, and Cain was satisfied, leaving Aaron to lead Robert through the door. He produced the key and picked up the manacles from the floor, positioning them around Robert’s hands and locking them again. Robert was staring at his hands, watching as the latch closed, as Aaron turned the key. Watching as he was put back in chains. 

When Aaron was finished he met Robert’s eye and lingered for a second longer than he should, hoping Robert could see in his eyes how little he was enjoying this. Robert gave a small smile and Aaron wrenched his gaze away. 

“Cain, a moment?” he asked after the cell door was closed. Cain stood still in reply. “D’you know what happened?” 

Cain looked at Ross, who was holding a toolbox in his hand. “Ross reckons it was a mechanical failure, could’ve happened to any of us. Dust accumulating in the ventilation system,” Cain said with a shrug. 

Aaron glanced between the two of them. “You sure about this?” 

Ross nodded. “I’ll check all of our rooms next, make sure nothing like this happens to any of us.” 

Aaron nodded, crosses his arms over his chest. “Right then,” he said. Ross’ footsteps echoed as he left. 

“Anything else?” Cain asked. 

Aaron looked inside the cell and then back at Cain. “No,” he said, despite the sense of wrongness building in his chest. “Nothing.” 

“Good,” Cain said. “I’m going to get some sleep. You should too,” he added. 

Aaron smiled. 

 

The Akadia was eerily quiet as Aaron walked the halls, willing his footsteps and the vastness of space surrounding them to quieten his mind. It was an old habit, walking the halls and chambers of the ship until his legs were tired and his mind was silent but it didn’t appear to make a difference today. 

A fear had settled in his stomach, a sense of wrong about Robert’s near-death. It was so simple, a small malfunction that could have happened to anyone, and yet… 

His feet brought him to Robert’s cell quickly, his hands punched in the code, and he walked in, fist clenched at his side. 

“What’s wrong?” Robert asked, sitting up from his cot and leaning forward. 

Aaron took a deep breath. “I believe you,” he said. The words settled between them, seconds passed while Robert took them in. With a long exhale, the invisible weight on Robert’s shoulders disappeared and he placed his head in his hands. 

“I’m angry and I’m confused by what it means but I believe you,” Aaron said. 

Robert was visibly shaken, controlling his breathing as he took it in. Aaron moved, sitting down next to Robert and looking at him.

“We have to get you out of here,” Aaron said. 

Robert sighed. “There’s no way to. As soon as this ship lands there’ll be military all over this place, and if they suspect even for a second that you are all involved, you’ll go to jail.” 

Aaron ran a hand over his face. “There has to be a way,” he said, pleading with someone who wasn’t there. 

“I can’t get you involved in this Aaron,” Robert said. “I don’t want you going to jail as well.” 

Aaron’s heart broke a little at the words. He stared at Robert’s hand and reached out, placing his palm on top of it. There was such a contrast between the warmth of Robert’s skin, the softness of it, and the cold hard steel of the chains around his wrists. 

“I have to get you out,” Aaron said. “I’ll find a way, I’ll -” 

Robert shook his head. “It’s okay, Aaron.” It wasn’t. None of this was okay. Aaron felt his eyes prickle and took a deep breath. “There’s nothing you can do.” 

Aaron wiped his eye with his sleeve, and nodded. 

They remained there for a while, Aaron’s hand in Robert’s, Aaron’s eyes fixed on the floor, Aaron listening to the sound of Robert’s breathing. 

 

“Mate, what’s going on?” Adam was pacing in front of him in the kitchen while Aaron nursed a large cup of what was supposed to approximate beer. It didn’t. “You’re sulky, you’re distant… is this to do with Sugden?” Aaron’s silence spurred Adam on. “Come on, man!” he shouted. “You can’t be serious, has he got you fooled?”

Aaron slammed a fist into the table and got up. “Robert’s innocent!” he yelled. He took a deep breath and glanced around the room, and seeing it empty apart from Adam and himself, lowered his voice to continue. “Robert didn’t kill Dr Addyman. He was framed for it,” 

Adam stared at Aaron, incredulous. “You’re kidding me,” he said. “You actually believe this?” 

Aaron sighed. “Because it’s true. Dr Addyman found out the Whites are corrupt and they killed her for it, and then they framed him for it to shut him up.”

“He’s got you caught up in his web of lies,” Adam said. “You can’t believe him!” 

“I found all these articles about them, and they keep repeating themselves when they talk about their work, the same cycle of bullshit is spewed with a few months difference and you know what? No one notices, because anyone who does notice is paid off or silenced.” Aaron’s heartbeat pounded in his ears as he spoke. “I read them, and if you go far enough back, the press-releases start to become oddly similar, almost repetitive.” 

Adam was quiet now, eyes searching Aaron’s for a slimmer of doubt in them, any sign that he was lying. “You serious mate?”

Aaron moved back and sat down, wrapping his hands around his glass of stale almost-beer. “I didn’t believe it myself to begin with…” he said. 

Adam stared at him. “I don’t believe it,” he said. 

“That’s fine,” Aaron said. “There’s nothing we can do about it anyway…” Adam turned around and walked towards the open door. “What happens when he takes you down with him?” he asked, his back turned to Aaron. 

Aaron sighed and stared at his glass. “He won’t.” 

Adam shook his head before walking out of the kitchen. 

Aaron remained, nursing his beer, trying to numb the anger that coursed through his veins. The Whites would get away with it, Robert would go down for it, and Aaron didn’t know how to live with what he knew. 

After he emptied the first beer, he went over and poured another. It was bitter, and watery, but Aaron drank it anyway, downing it in a few large mouthfuls. He didn’t even hear anyone enter the kitchen, didn’t notice Ross until he stood next to Aaron with a grin on is face. 

“You alright?” he asked, clearly not wanting an answer. Not that Aaron wanted to give him one. “Rough night?”

“What do you care?” Aaron asked. 

Ross shrugged. “I don’t. But,” he added, smile lingering, “I do have something better to drink than that piss.” He glanced at the yellowy liquid in Aaron’s glass. Aaron shrugged and drank it anyway. “Why don’t I pour you a glass? It’ll get you drunk quicker than that stuff,” he said. 

Aaron glanced at him. “No talking?” he said. 

Ross smiled. “Just how I like it.” 

Ross’ room was smaller than Aaron’s - there was no table other than the small one at his bedside, and there was just one picture on it. Ross was standing next to his brothers, Finn and Pete, and he was smiling. It was a genuine smile, not the one Ross sported on board the Akadia. Aaron stepped inside and Ross pulled over a stool from the corner for Aaron to sit on. 

“I brought this with me when we last had a few days off,” he said. He opened a cupboard beside his bed and took out a glass bottle of amber liquid with a golden label on the side. “This is proper Lunar whiskey,” he said with reverence. 

“You’ve had that bottle for almost a year?” Aaron asked.

Ross nodded. “I take a glass every once in a while, when I need it.” He looked at Aaron. “You looked like you needed it.” He reached into the cupboard and brought out two glasses for the occasion. 

“Thanks,” Aaron said as Ross handed him a glass, opened the bottle, and poured him an inch. He inhaled the smell of it and grinned. “Not bad,” he said. 

Ross smiled. “Cheers,” he said. 

Aaron tasted a sip and felt the instant burn of real liquor on his tongue, a touch of peatiness, and smokey hint. It was delicious. 

“Good, yeah?” Ross asked. Aaron nodded in reply. 

Ross sat down on his bed and took a second sip, savouring the taste. 

“This must’ve cost you a fortune,” Aaron said. 

Ross grinned. “It did,” he replied. “Worth it though.” 

“Didn’t know you had that kind of money,” Aaron joked. 

“Saved up after a few odd jobs,” Ross said. “Always wanted to have one of these bottles.” 

Aaron raised his glass and smiled. “I don’t mind at all,” he said. 

Just as Ross was about to take another sip, his wristband went off. Ross glanced at it and sighed. “Cain wants me,” he said. “I’ll be back in five, yeah?” 

“I won’t drink the bottle while you’re away,” he said in reply. Ross flipped him off before leaving. 

Aaron stared at the liquid in his glass, swirled it around a bit before taking another sip. It really did taste leagues better than the makeshift beer he had consumed earlier. On top of that it gave him a nice light feeling, the numbness was creeping in with every second. It settled him. 

He found himself looking at the picture of Ross with his brothers. He’d met them once or twice, when they were docked on Mars. Pete was alright, and Aaron cringed a little when he remembered sleeping with Finn, and Ross’ reaction when he found out. Aaron reached a hand out and lifted the frame to bring the picture closer. 

A small piece of folded paper fell out from the back of the frame. Aaron sighed, putting the frame back down and bending forward to lift the slip of paper. Curiosity got the best of him and he opened it, revealing a picture of a woman with long blonde hair and big smile, happily staring up at whoever had taken the photo. It felt wrong to see until…  

Aaron knew that face, he had seen it before. He had seen it standing next to her father on the news, had seen it speaking openly about the upcoming trial. 

Rebecca White. 

Aaron felt whatever numbness had accumulated over the past few drinks evaporate into nothing as he stared at her picture. He took it in, stared at it for a few more seconds before putting it back behind the frame and setting the glass down next to it. He turned and walked out of Ross’ room, feet carrying him nowhere but away. 

Aaron paced his room, trying to piece it together. Why did Ross have a picture of Rebecca by his bedside? Ross had never mentioned any connection to them, had never let it slip that he knew them, and by the looks of that picture they were more than just friends. 

With a glance at his watch he knew the last shift of the day was over, and he walked to Robert’s cell with sure feet. 

Robert looked up as Aaron entered. His smile fell away as he took in Aaron’s dishevelled figure, his frantic eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“Ross, he knows her,” Aaron began, pacing around the cell. “Ross knows Rebecca, he has a picture of her beside her bed, he has never mentioned it before but he knows her…” 

Robert’s mouth fell open. “Ross Barton…. I thought I’d heard that name before! I heard her mention him once or twice, I don’t think I was meant to. Ross is that person?”

Aaron ran a hand over his face. “I don’t understand, I thought…” He paused as the memory rushed over him. “He was kicked out of university for cheating. He was kicked out of -” 

“- the Tharsis School of Engineering.” Robert finished. “That’s where Rebecca studied.” 

Silence fell between them.

“You know what this means?” Aaron said. Robert swallowed and shook his head. “I don’t think the recycler failing was an accident.” 

Robert paused and stared at the floor. “Fuck,” he said. 

 

He walked through the ship with a cup of coffee in his hand. He had a plan. Well, a beginning of a plan, more than he had had in many months; a speck of hope. It was all he could do to contain himself, but he knew he needed to be smart, to play his cards right. First, he had to tell Robert. 

Robert smiled as soon as he saw Aaron round the corner, sitting up and resting his manacled arms on his knees. 

“Morning,” Robert said as Aaron walked into the cell. 

“Brought you a cup of coffee,” Aaron said. He walked over and Robert took it, taking a deep breath before taking a sip. 

“Brilliant,” he said. Aaron pulled a chair over from the desk and sat down opposite Robert. “How’re you?” 

Aaron ran a hand over his face. “I’m not getting much sleep, but I’m alright.” 

Robert smiled sympathetically. “I know the feeling,” he said. He took another sip of coffee and the warmth from it practically radiated off him. 

Aaron leaned forward and looked over his shoulders before taking a deep breath. Robert raised an eyebrow. “You alright?” 

Aaron met his eye. “I’ve got a plan,” he said. 

“A plan?” Robert asked. 

Aaron rolled his eyes. “A plan to get you out,” he said. 

Robert shook his head and placed his cup of coffee on the floor. “No Aaron,” he said. 

“Why?” Aaron asked. “Why not?” 

Robert got up and, with the little movement he had in chains, paced in front of Aaron. “I don’t want you involved in this,” he said. 

“I’m involved no matter what,” Aaron countered. “I’m here, I’m your friend, I’m -” He stopped. 

Robert paused. “You can’t get me out of here, you can’t prevent me from going to prison,” he said. 

“No, but I can get you out once you’re in there… we could plan a break-out, make the world see what the Whites have done,” Aaron said. 

Robert’s face fell. “I don’t think we can,” he said. 

Aaron sighed. He got up and paced the small cell, Robert watching him carefully. “Why won’t you let me help you?” Aaron said. 

“I don’t want you ending up in jail, or worse, because of me. I…” Robert paused. “I care about you too much.” 

This made Aaron stop walking, turning around to see Robert staring at the floor, hands hanging at his sides, chest rising and falling. Aaron took a step closer, and then another, closing the gap between them. “What d’you mean?” he asked. 

Robert sighed. “I mean I care about you, Aaron.” 

Aaron took another step and kept holding Robert’s gaze. “I… care about you too,” he admitted. The flicker of a smile Aaron saw in Robert made his heart leap. 

Robert smiled and it drew Aaron closer, until there were only inches between them. Aaron could count the freckles on Robert’s cheek, could see the minute details of his face. Aaron reached out and lay a hand on Robert’s forearm. His skin was warm and Aaron couldn’t stop himself from relishing the feeling of Robert’s skin on his own. 

Robert moved closer, extended a hand to Aaron’s hip and Aaron shifted his head up, licking his lips. Aaron could almost feel Robert’s breath on his skin and instinctively moved closer just to -

There was a click, and then Aaron felt the barrel of a gun press into his side. 

“Robert?” he asked,voice shaky. 

“Take the keys out of your pocket,” Robert said. His voice had changed, the softness from before gone. Aaron swallowed, glancing down to see his own gun pressed to his abdomen. Robert took a step back but held the gun pointed at Aaron’s chest. “Do it,” he said, forcefully this time. 

Aaron brought a steady hand to his pocket and fished out the keys. “Don’t do this,” he said. 

“Now, use that key to unlock these chains,” Robert said, taking no heed of Aaron’s words. With careful steps Aaron walked over to the wall, using one key to unlock the chains from there. His heart was pounding in his chest, drowning out the anger that bubbled there. “And these,” Robert said, moving the chains on his wrist to show what he meant. Aaron complied, Robert holding the gun fixed on him as he unlocked them. 

“I could fight you,” Aaron said, voice steady where his body was shaky. 

“I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot,” Robert said. “The moment I see you make any move, I’ll shoot.” 

Aaron let out a slow breath and listened as Robert’s chains fell to the floor. Robert moved around him, and as he stood behind Aaron, pulled him in and pressed the gun to Aaron’s skin, one arm wrapped around his waist. 

“I’m sorry, Aaron.” Robert’s voice was as cold as the steel pressed to Aaron’s neck. “I have to do this.” 

Aaron nodded, felt the gun move against his skin as he did so. 

“I’m going to need you to show me where your pod is. I saw it on the ship as it docked onto the Space Station.” 

The alarm blared in the background as Aaron moved towards the entrance of the cell and, with his own gun pressed to his neck, he punched in the code to open the door. Robert’s chest was pressed to Aaron’s back, strong and muscular despite the months spent locked up. Even stronger was the arm wrapped around Aaron’s chest, holding him in place. 

Aaron took a step out of the cell and Robert followed. “I would’ve helped you,” he said. 

Robert sighed. “I couldn’t let you. You would’ve suffered too much for it.” 

The echo of their synchronised footsteps was suddenly overwhelmed by several others running towards him; they were joined by Cain, Adam, and Debbie, who all froze as soon as they saw Robert holding Aaron’s gun. 

“Don’t hurt him!” Cain yelled. 

Robert’s voice reverberated through Aaron’s body. “I won’t, if I just get to that pod.” 

Adam swore and Debbie took a step closer, forcing Robert to load it. “Alright,” Cain said. “You hurt him and I’ll kill you so fast you won’t know what’s hit you.” 

“I don’t doubt it,” he said. “Now, Aaron, if you will.” 

Aaron moved forward, Cain, Adam and Debbie backing up as he did so, walking carefully around the ship. Another pair of footsteps reached them and Robert turned, making sure whoever it was knew who held the gun. It was Ross. 

“You, stay where you are,” Robert said. He shifted the gun slightly, and Aaron winced. “I don’t want you any closer, Ross Barton.” 

Ross bared his teeth and clenched his fists. “I have a job to do,” he said. 

Robert moved the gun to Aaron’s temple and Ross froze in his footsteps. “I imagine you’ve got until the end of next week, right? How much did she pay you?” 

Cain and Adam shared a confused look, while Debbie stared at the floor. Ross didn’t move any closer. “Enough to not let me botch this job,” he added. 

“You move any closer and I shoot,” Robert said coolly. With horror, Aaron realised he believed it. 

“Please,” Adam begged. “Don’t do anything stupid, Ross.” 

“Right, now if we’re all playing along, why don’t we get Mr Dingle here to take me to the pod so I can leave you all to it.” 

Aaron took a small step forward again, and the rest of the group stood still, allowing them to pass. They turned a corner and Adam ran after them, keeping his distance. 

“I want to know he’s safe,” Adam said. 

Aaron moved towards the pod, using another security code to open it and finally, Robert let him go. With the gun still pointed at Aaron’s head, he asked: “How many days rations are in this?”

“Five,” Aaron said. “After that you’ll struggle.” 

Robert stood there, looking at Aaron, and a small smile crept up on his lips. “I can’t thank you enough for how you’ve treated me,” he said. Aaron didn’t reply, seething, the anger at being betrayed dwarfed only by the fear of what was to come because of it. “I’m not proud of this,” Robert said. 

Robert took a deep breath and kept the gun pointed at Aaron. “Now, I’m going to need you to back up until you’re out of the airlock, and then close it.” 

Aaron nodded, taking the few steps back and keeping his eyes on Robert, and the gun. When he was back out of the airlock, Adam next to him, he closed it, and took a deep breath.

Robert walked backwards into the pod and quickly set about switching it on, strapping himself to the chair. Aaron watched as Robert buckled in, as the pod detached from the frame of the Akadia, as Robert gave him a small nod and then he was off into the star-speckled sky. 

Aaron turned around and walked back to Robert’s empty cell, launching himself at Ross. 

“You,” he said. He held Ross by the lapels, pushing him against the hard metal. 

“Me?” he asked, mouth quirked up in a smile. 

“How do you know Rebecca White?” Aaron said, making sure it was loud enough for Cain and Debbie to hear. When Ross didn’t offer an answer, Aaron shook him. “How do you know Rebecca White?” he asked again. 

“We went to university together, we… we were in a relationship,” he said. 

Behind them Cain took steps forward until he stood next to Aaron, staring Ross down. “What’s this?” he asked.

Aaron ignored him. “You ruined that recycler on purpose, didn’t you?” Aaron asked. 

Ross laughed. “You care so much about him, don’t ya? Enough to let him run off on his own,” he said. 

Cain moved closer now. “You told me about this contract, you were the one who offered it to me, told me to take it. Why?” 

Ross stared at Cain and then back at Aaron. “Rebecca told me she needed Robert killed off by the time he reached Mars, she didn’t say why…” 

Aaron pushed him back against the wall, relished in the wince that it drew as his head hit. “She wanted him dead because he was innocent,” Aaron said. “She wanted him dead because she was framing him!”

Cain shook his head. “The money wasn’t enough for ya? We were all getting at least 10.000 credits for this!”

Ross’ eyes narrowed. “She was going to pay me five times that.” 

Aaron stared at him, seeing him for the first time for what he was. He shoved him away and let him go, watched as he fell to the floor, coughing. Aaron turned around to see Debbie, silent tears streaking down her face. 

“You lied to me,” she whispered. “For months you’ve been lying to us all.” 

Ross raised himself on two hands and stared at the floor. Cain bent down to meet his level, eyes harder than Aaron had ever seen. “You’re fired,” he said. Cain glanced at Aaron. “Put him in his room and lock the door.” 

Aaron nodded grimly. “Cain,” he said, before moving to get Ross up. “What’re we going to do when we get to Mars?” 

Cain sighed. “They’re going to want our heads on a pike,” he said. “The contract states that in case of escape, the liability lies on the man in charge.” Cain stared at Aaron and took a heavy breath. “That’s you.” 

Aaron felt like the air was punched from his lungs, like the air suddenly became hard to breathe. He stared at Ross who was still lying on the floor and picked him up. That was in two weeks’ time. Until then, Aaron was free. 


	3. Part 3

The cell was cold, cement walls and a metal bed and Aaron rested his head on the wall with his hands in his lap. 

At least he was the only one of them who had ended up in prison; someone had to take the blame for Robert escaping and Aaron knew that ultimately it rested on his shoulder. Robert had escaped because Aaron let him get too close. It had been reckless and Aaron’s fists still clenched whenever he thought about it. 

They could have figured it out together, they could have gotten out of it somehow. The exact plan had not yet formed in his mind when Robert escaped but he knew he would have done it. Robert just hadn’t let him. 

The terrible food and the constant discomfort was a downside. Prison was built to make the people staying there as uncomfortable as possible, have them feeling as far from human as possible and Aaron hated that it was working.

Aaron spent his days staring at the ceiling, and his nights waking to every sound of footsteps outside his cell. There was no window in this cell, only cement walls and bars. There was no escape to the outside world and so, old wounds reopened and were left to fester, and it was a daily fight to not let it all take over. 

He pulled the sleeves of his grey jumper further over his hands and found the e-reader distributed to all inmates, opening the book he was reading. It wasn’t great, but it was something. 

All the e-readers were non-communication devices, and yet at the top of his screen now he saw a small flickering message icon, and with a slight tremor in his hand he lifted a finger and pressed it. 

A message appeared on his screen, a message that made very little sense but nonetheless gave him a glimmer of hope. 

**Don’t do anything stupid. I’m coming for you.**

As he looked at it, the pixels folded in on themselves and all traces of their presence disappeared. Aaron was left to continue reading, but while his eyes scanned the page his mind was distant, repeating the message over and over again. 

 

Days passed without anything changing, no further contact. 

Was it Adam? He could have arranged for some form of communication between them… Maybe it was Cain, through Holly, who had managed to hack their way into a government machine. It couldn’t be Ross. When Cain had realised what he had done, he had locked Ross in his room until they landed on Mars, and as soon as Ross had set foot on land he had gone into hiding. At least, that was what Moira had said during her visit. 

Aaron kept his eyes fixed on the doors of any room he was in, his heartbeat picked up with every sudden noise. No matter the activity he kept his head down, not wanting to end up beaten to a pulp and unable to make a run for it, were it necessary. 

What he didn’t expect was to wake up to his cell-door wide open, and a small figure standing next to it waiting for him. 

Aaron quietly made his way down his bed, walked soundlessly to the door. 

“Ready?” the guard asked. Her voice was almost a whisper, and her cap was pulled down over her head to hide her face. 

“Who’re you?” Aaron asked. 

She looked up and met his eye. “The person responsible for getting you out of here, so -” She pointed forward along the corridor “- shall we?” 

Aaron poked his head around the open cell door. The corridor was empty save for a single guard who was staring at them and seemed impatient. 

“One of yours?” Aaron asked. 

The woman nodded. 

Aaron took a step out and then another, tasting freedom with each step. The fake guard took up step next to him and as they passed the second guard, he fell in step behind them. 

“Who are you?” Aaron asked. 

“My name’s Priya, this is my brother Jai.” She indicated behind them. 

“Yeah, but why are you getting me out of here?” Aaron asked, trying to keep his voice down as they walked through the corridors. 

Priya sighed. “Robert Sugden’s been tracking you down for weeks and you have no idea?” 

Aaron swallowed. 

They rounded a corner and walked through the now-empty kitchens of the prison. The service door was wide open, and outside was a small delivery truck with a driver waiting in the front seat. 

“How did you -” Aaron began but Priya shushed him. 

She pressed up against the wall by one of the stoves and indicated for Aaron and Jai to do the same. A guard walked past. Aaron heard his footsteps falter, heard them get closer to the door. Priya took a deep breath and then stepped out and delivered a single punch to the man’s cheek, knocking him out. 

She glanced over her shoulder at Aaron and grinned. “Right, out we go.” 

Jai opened the back of the truck and jumped in, indicating for Aaron to follow, while Priya took the passenger’s seat. The back of the van was empty and Jai sat down as the engine was switched on and and the driver started the car. 

Jai spoke for the first time: “Got a message for you.” He took out his small Screen and threw it to Aaron, and not two seconds later a call came through. Aaron looked at Jai and in the dim light from a lantern in the corner he saw Jai nod. Aaron opened the call. 

Robert’s face popped up in front of him. His hair had been cut since he was in prison, and his skin was darker as if after prolonged sun-exposure. He was grinning, and it lit up his whole face. 

“I knew they’d get you,” he said. “How are you?”

Aaron shrugged. “Tired. Confused.” 

Robert’s smile fell incrementally. “The drive will be a while so you can sleep, and I’ll explain the rest to you when you arrive, yeah?” Aaron nodded. The adrenaline was still pumping through his veins, sleep might be a long shot. “I’m sorry, Aaron. About all of this. I’m just glad I could get you out.” 

Aaron couldn’t help but smile, just a little. “I appreciate the break-out.” 

Robert grinned again and it set something in Aaron’s chest on fire. “Good. Now, get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

With that, Robert closed the call and Aaron tossed the Screen back to Jai. And whether it was the lull of the moving vehicle or the final chance to properly relax after weeks Aaron did not know, but within twenty minutes he had fallen asleep with his head resting on the back of the van. 

 

Aaron woke up to the sound of the van door opening and sunlight streaming in. 

Aaron sprang up, his heartbeat shooting through the roof but it calmed quickly when he saw Priya extending a hand towards him through the open door. In the daylight Aaron could see his rescuers face for the first time - a sharp nose and a set of dark brown eyes marked her clearly as a member of Jai’s family. Aaron nodded in thanks and took her proffered hand, and as gracefully as he could jumped down from the van, Jai following just after. 

The cave into which Aaron had just entered was lit not by sunlight, but by large lamps mimicking it hanging from the ceiling. The cave walls were a mixture between light red and brown, and the ground beneath his feet was covered in sand. “Where are we?” Aaron asked. 

Priya looked around and smiled. “This is an underground hideout, the entrance of which lies in the side of the Victoria crater,” she said, clearly proud. “I built it, together with my brother Jai, and our small band of degenerates.” 

Aaron looked behind him at what was probably the airlock through which they had just arrived and raised his eyebrows. “You built this?”

Priya smiled and started walking towards a metal door in the wall of the cavern. “Well, not alone. I’ve got a military background, tech mostly. Jai’s an engineer, Leyla was an architect before she came here with us. My dad, Rishi, provided the funds.” 

Aaron followed, eyes glancing around the cavern to try and identify as much as possible. At the end of a the cave stood a small ship, what looked suspiciously like the escape pod from the Akadia. Aaron smiled. 

Priya scanned her iris and the door slid open, revealing another corridor, this one with several rooms branching off of it. The metal doors were set directly into the hard red rock surface, and as they passed the doors Jai spoke: “That’s the meeting room, Priya’s office, my office, the kitchen, dining room, living room area in one.” At the end of the corridor was what was going to be Aaron’s room. They walked past it. “We’re taking you directly to the baths, we’re guessing you want one, and a change of clothes?” It was posed as a question but Aaron saw no need to answer. His clothes were filthy and he couldn’t remember the last time he had taken a shower. 

They turned a corner and Aaron saw another row of doors, this time designated sleeping quarters for each one of them. The final member of the team, Leyla stood at the entrance to the baths with a towel in one hand and a change of clothes in the other. 

“Aaron, good to have you here,” she said, smiling. 

Jai waited outside as Priya led Aaron in to the bathroom. There was a row of three showers divided by curtains, and a small rack along the wall. Aaron took the towel out of Leyla’s hand and she placed the clothes on a rack next to the shower. 

“We’ll leave you to it,” Priya said. “Meet us in the kitchens afterwards, Robert’s working on something important right now but he said he’d meet us there. Dad’s cooking,” she said. Aaron’s mouth watered at the mention of food. 

They smiled and left Aaron to it, and for the first time in Aaron couldn’t remember how long, he was alone. 

Half and hour later Aaron emerged from the showers cleaned and dressed and feeling more refreshed than he could remember feeling. The clothes were a bit too tight - Aaron guessed they were hand-me-downs - but the sweatpants were comfortable and the jumper was warm, so he wouldn’t complain. He walked down the corridor in borrowed shoes until he found the door which Jai had said was the kitchen, and gently pushed the door open. 

Laughter sounded from the company within, and as Aaron walked in they all turned but the smiles didn’t fall. On the contrary. Aaron’s eyes fell on Robert, who sat next to Leyla, and as soon as Robert saw him he got up and walked over. 

Robert stopped just short of a hug, instead reaching out and placing a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. His eyes shone. He looked healthy, happy. Settled. 

Aaron’s mind went back to the last time they had spoken, to Robert watching him down the barrel of a gun and his resolve to be grateful crumbled. His mouth hardened into a line and Robert’s smile fell. 

“I’m sorry, okay?” Robert said, voice pleading. “I had no idea they’d take you to jail for it, or I wouldn’t have -” 

“Stop,” Aaron said. “I don’t want to hear it. I just -” Aaron took a moment to breathe, to think. “I think I just need to take it all in.” 

Robert nodded and removed his hand. Aaron glanced at the table and found all of them staring at their cups. Robert cleared his throat. “Coffee?” he asked, and Aaron smiled in reply. 

 

The next day was confusing, a well of information and new impressions that despite Aaron’s 12 hour sleep left him exhausted. Priya gave him a proper tour, showing him the different rooms and what they were working on. Apparently, before Robert turned up, they were mostly involved in small-scale jobs, re-routing water supplies and getting enough food to the poorest bubbles on Mars. With that temporarily suspended, their focus was on the Whites.

Priya’s office was a mess of computers, Screens, wires, keyboards. Some of the stuff looked ancient while others looked like nothing Aaron had seen before. Leyla had drawing boards, plans, blueprints scattered over her desk, while Jai had a station filled with gadgets Aaron barely understood. 

Aaron barely saw Robert, as he was still working on something important, the vague descriptor Priya gave him whenever Aaron asked what it was. Apparently Robert was waiting to tell him himself, so Aaron was left to his own devices. After dinner and a beer, Aaron went to bed and as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out. 

 

“Aaron, can we talk?” Robert asked. His head peaked through the doorway to the kitchen as Aaron sat in a chair reading a book on Leyla’s e-reader. He nodded, and got up. 

He followed Robert into his private room and Robert stood in front of him, waiting. 

“How are you?” he asked. 

Aaron shrugged. “Glad to be out of jail. Missing my family, Adam, Cain…” 

Robert’s eyebrows narrowed. “Miss them? Didn’t they get you thrown in jail in the first place?”

“They didn’t have much choice,” Aaron said. “As soon as we arrived on Mars and the authorities realised you were gone, they wanted someone to go down for it. Ultimately it was my mistake, so I took the fall.” 

Robert sighed heavily. “I’m so sorry, Aaron. My plan was never to escape from your ship but when I realised Ross was trying to kill me, I had to get out of there.” 

“I know,” Aaron said. “I just wish you had let me help you.” 

Robert took a step closer, small but enough to get him into Aaron’s space, within reach. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you did for me in there,” Robert said, repeating words spoken many times already. 

“You don’t have to keep thanking me,” Aaron replied. “I did what was right, what anyone would’ve done.” 

“No, not what anyone would’ve done,” Robert insisted. Aaron swallowed. “There’s a goodness in you I didn’t see in anyone else while I was being held for Katie’s murder. You were the only one who saw something… I don’t know what it was.” 

Aaron let out a small laugh. “Neither do I,” he said. Robert smiled too, at that. 

Robert reached out a hand and placed it on Aaron’s, a small touch that conveyed everything Robert meant with his words. Aaron stared at their touching hands and then back at Robert’s eyes. That speck of green melted together with the blue was beautiful, just as Aaron remembered it. 

Robert pulled away. “I got you something,” he said. He turned around and rummaged in some files before pulling out a single folded piece of paper. “I know it isn’t much, but…” he said, handing it to Aaron and waiting as he unfolded it. 

It was a print-out of Poppies at Argenteuil and Aaron stood there, stunned. Robert remembered. He glanced between the paper and Robert and something broke inside his chest, trickling out a warmth that couldn’t be denied. 

“You mentioned it once, while I was in that cell,” Robert said. “I thought I could give you something back.” 

Aaron grinned. It was beautiful, just as he remembered. Aaron held in his hands a part of him that he had almost let go of. “Thank you,” he said, and his voice was raw with emotion. 

“You’re welcome,” Robert said. 

Aaron folded it and put it in his pocket. When he looked up again Robert was close, so close. 

Aaron lifted a hand, placing it on Robert’s cheek, tracing the skin where Robert had been bruised when they first met. “Matty did a great job fixing you,” he said. 

Robert smiled, and Aaron saw his eyes dip down to his lips before finding his eyes again. “Thanks to you,” he said. 

Aaron fought a smile as Robert moved that last inch closer, and pressed his lips to Aaron’s. They were soft and warm and Aaron felt himself lean into Robert’s body until his chest was pressed to Robert’s, and Robert snaked an arm around his waist. Aaron pulled away only to smile and move back in for more, hitting Robert’s chin more than his lips but it didn’t matter. 

That warmth in his chest grew and his hand moved from Robert’s cheek to the nape of his neck, clinging on to the only thing that felt real; Robert. Robert deepened the kiss and Aaron met him in kind, curling his tongue behind Robert’s teeth. 

They pulled apart, both breathless and both smiling. 

“I -” Robert said, but his words were replaced by a grin. 

Aaron kissed him quickly before moving back. “I’ve wanted to do that for far too long,” he admitted. 

Robert touched his nose to Aaron’s. It was soft, a gesture of more than just wanting. This was more than that. “I wanted to, but I was kind of tied up,” Robert joked. 

Aaron stifled a laugh. Robert leaned in for more and all Aaron could do was let him. 

“You going to tell me what you’re doing here then?” Aaron asked when they finally pulled apart again. 

At his question, Robert’s face hardened slightly. “We’re breaking into TERRA’s computer system and stealing the data that’ll prove I’m innocent.” 

Aaron felt his jaw drop. “You’re hacking into what I’m guessing is one of the best guarded networks in the known universe? That’s what you’ve been doing?”

Robert nodded, and with a triumphant smile he added: “And we’re almost done.” 

The revelation left Aaron stunned. His arm fell down from where it had rested on Robert’s shoulder as he tried to understand what the consequences would be. 

“That means you would be free,” Aaron finally managed. 

Robert smiled a little at Aaron’s words. “If we manage to do this properly, yes.” He took Aaron’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “Let me show you,” he said. 

Robert pulled Aaron down the hallway to Priya’s office, opening the door. Priya was sat in her chair, fingers typing furiously, eyes focussing on the screen in a look of deep concentration. She glanced over her shoulder as Robert walked in, her eyes falling quickly to their twined hands and Aaron thought he saw her smile a little before turning back to the screen. 

“We’ve been working on it for a while, but because of the distance it is taking some time to get access,” Robert said. He pointed to a screen where a loading bar was at 27%. “When that reaches 100, I’ll have to chose the files to release, and then it all goes public.” 

Aaron gazed at the mess of numbers and letters on the screen, a sense of awe creeping through him. “This is mad,” he said. 

Priya hummed in agreement. “This’ll change the whole world,” she said. “Money we waste on TERRA could be re-routed, used for the people who need it the most.” 

Aaron stared at her, not sharing her belief in humanity. 

Robert grinned at Aaron. “It means the Whites’ll pay for what they did to me, pay for what they’ve stolen from us.” 

Aaron took a beat, a moment to digest. “How did you do all this, without being detected?”

Robert’s face fell slightly. Priya cleared her throat and Aaron looked between them. “They’ve tried,” Robert admitted, “but they haven’t managed yet. Priya’s got airtight security and is diverting their efforts until the IP is so scrambled they think we’re in several different places all at once.” 

“But they can still find us, especially as soon as we get access to TERRA’s database.” Priya stared at the screen as she spoke. “Essentially, when that bar reaches 100%.”

Aaron ran a hand over his head. “We’ve got, what… a day?”

Robert nodded. “We’ve got everything packed, and we can leave within minutes of accessing that database and releasing it to the world.” 

Aaron looked between them. Priya was still staring at the screen and Robert was looking at Aaron’s face, desperately trying to figure out what he was thinking. 

“Well then… we’d better enjoy the time we have,” Aaron said. He intertwined his fingers with Robert’s, and Robert practically pulled him back to his bedroom. 

As soon as Robert closed the door they moved towards each other, Robert capturing Aaron’s lips in a kiss and deepening it within seconds. Aaron raised a hand to Robert’s hair and let his fingers runs through it, pulling slightly at the nape of his neck which relinquished a chuckle from Robert. Aaron’s vision was filled with Robert, his face and eyes and broad chest. Robert wrapped his arms around him and soon the only thing Aaron felt was Robert.

Robert was soft in everything he did, every touch to Aaron’s body. When he saw the scars on Aaron’s chest he acted no different, kissing his way down Aaron’s chest all the same. Aaron couldn’t remember ever feeling so universally adored, and then Robert pulled him close and Aaron forgot that a world outside Robert’s room existed. Even in the throes of pleasure Robert’s eyes were incredible soft, caring. It made it all the more intimate, and Aaron clung to every second of it. 

Afterwards, as they were both lying naked on Robert’s bed, Aaron felt Robert’s hand trace up and down his spine, felt him press a kiss to Aaron’s head. 

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Robert murmured into Aaron’s hair. 

Aaron turned and pressed a kiss to Robert’s cheek. “I can’t believe you broke me out of prison,” he said. 

Robert chuckled. “I mean, technically, Priya did it.”

“Why did she do it?” Aaron asked.

Robert’s hand stopped moving on Aaron’s back. “I felt so guilty, I wasn’t really all that focussed. She could tell. With what we needed to do, she needed me focussed on this. We started planning it about a month ago,” Robert said. 

Aaron smiled. “You were worried about me then?”

Robert pinched his side, making Aaron squirm and move so his thighs rested on either side of Robert’s hips, and he caught Robert’s hands and held them to prevents any further pinching. Robert’s eyes met his and he smiled. “Yeah, I was.” 

The teasing in the moment dissipated as Aaron realised there was a spec of worry in his mind too. “What happens tomorrow if they find us before we get the chance to release it all?” Aaron asked. 

Robert sighed. “Then we’ll have done all we can.” He moved his hands to Aaron’s thighs and stroked his skin. “My priority is getting you out of here when the data is released, the rest of it doesn’t matter.” 

“You mean you don’t matter?” Aaron asked. 

Robert’s voice was hard when he answered: “Not as much as you.” 

 

Aaron woke up the next morning to an empty bed; the sheets were bunched up around his waist and the lamps were softly lit in the ceiling. He moved around a little trying to find sleep in another position, when Robert walked through the door with two coffees in hand. 

“Morning,” he said, closing the door with his foot as he made his way towards the bed. 

Aaron sat up, back leaning against the wall, and made space for Robert to sit down. He took a warm cup out of Robert’s hand and smiled. 

“Been looking forward to this,” Aaron said. Robert quirked an eyebrow in question. “You returning the favour.” 

Robert laughed. “It does bring back memories,” he said. As the laughter faded, it was replaced by a small sadness in his eyes. Aaron saw the remnants of the cold and unfeeling Robert that he had first met, the man with so many walls up Aaron couldn’t see what was behind them. 

“How do you handle it?” Aaron asked. 

“Handle what?” Robert countered, eyes changing. 

“I was in prison this time for about a month and a half and I had it easy. You were locked up for months and months, beaten and treated like the worst humanity has to offer… it can’t have been easy,” Aaron said. 

Robert smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “It wasn’t,” he said. “I catch myself dreaming of manacles around my wrists and being locked in rooms but having someone who treated me like a human helped. You helped,” he said, eyes shining. “Last night was the first night in months I haven’t kicked in my sleep,” he admitted. 

Aaron leaned forward and pressed a coffee-laced kiss to Robert’s lips, breathing him in, hoping Robert felt every inch of what Aaron did. They pulled apart and the smile on Robert’s lips filled his eyes too. 

“How much time do we have?” Aaron asked. 

“I just checked on the computer, it’s at 81%. I’m guessing a few hours,” Robert said. “Jai’s preparing for departure, packing up the important equipment. Leyla’s checking on the food storages. Rishi is going through his files…” 

“What about you?” Aaron asked. 

Robert looked around the small room that was sparsely decorated, except a small collection of photographs stuck to the wall with pins. “I don’t have much to take down,” he said. 

“I’ll help you,” Aaron said. “This is it, isn’t it?”

Robert nodded. “I’d love your help though.” 

So he did - he spent much of the next few hours helping where he could, packing and preparing, and when he saw the ship they would be leaving on, his eyes grew. It was smaller than the Akadia, but with state of the art solar panels and what appeared to be stealth gear along the sides. It was beautiful, sleek in a way the Akadia never was. 

Aaron walked back upstairs and found everyone crowded outside Priya’s office. Aaron joined them and found the bar on the screen almost filled.

“2%,” Robert said, taking a seat next to Priya and taking out a small notebook with a jumble of numbers and letters, codes for specific files by the looks of it. He glanced at Aaron and nodded solemnly. “Get ready, this’ll take about 10 minutes.” 

The base was packed, Aaron and the rest of the crew gathered the last things and carried them down to the ship, every second lasting hours in their minds, each footstep bringing them closer to some end, whatever that may be. While Robert worked the rest of then waited with bated breath, Priya sitting next to him, Aaron standing behind him, Jai, Leyla and Rishi standing by the door, waiting for the signal. 

Robert was going through documents, typing in words and codes until he found the ones he needed, collecting them in a large file which Aaron knew would be the one he was going to release. He understood none of what was going on, but in the end it didn’t matter. He knew people out there would go through every last page of what Robert released and find every detail of the Whites’ lies. 

Just before Robert pressed send, he looked back at Aaron and smiled. “Will you step aside?”

Aaron nodded. 

Robert pressed enter and Aaron saw the reason for moving; he was recording. 

“My name is Robert Sugden, I previously worked as a scientist in TERRA under Lawrence White with Dr. Addyman, until her murder of which I was accused. In these documents are proof of every lie the Whites ever told, every monetary transaction that allowed them to do it. It also details their plan to frame me for her murder, and pictures of the night in question. I share this information freely, and any of you can find the proof needed to put them away for good. No one with their power should abuse it like they have.” 

With that, the transmission ended, and Robert released every single file he had found. 


	4. Epilogue

Aaron woke up to the sun streaming through his window, bright light with a reddish tint that Aaron knew from his childhood. It shone on the carpet by the bed, on the duvet, on Robert’s chest over which Aaron’s chest was thrown. 

He shifted under the duvet, and in his sleepy haze Robert shifted too, turning on his side and unconsciously putting his arm over Aaron’s chest. Aaron smiled and pressed his forehead to Robert’s shoulder, breathing him in. 

The bed was large, large enough for both of them to sleep separately and yet they gravitated towards each other in sleep, waking to find their bodies intertwined. Aaron feigned dislike of this but whenever he woke up and Robert wasn’t there, he felt disappointed. 

Robert pressed a kiss to Aaron’s head. “Morning,” he muttered, voice still heavy with sleep. 

“Morning,” Aaron replied. 

Robert was warm and soft and Aaron pulled him closer, slotting their legs together. “Sleep alright?” Aaron asked. 

Robert hummed in reply and started trailing Aaron’s back with his fingertips, slowly, intently. “What time is it?” 

“Don’t know,” Aaron admitted. “Don’t want to know, want to stay here.” 

Robert chuckled slowly and Aaron felt it through his chest. With a kiss to Aaron’s forehead he got up, pulled on a pair of briefs and walked to the window. He stood there a while, admiring the view from the top floor of Aaron’s mother’s house in which they were currently staying. Aaron raised himself up on his elbow and watched him. 

“You like it here, don’t you?” Aaron asked. 

Robert turned his head around to meet Aaron’s gaze. “Yeah, it’s nice here. Simple. Easy.” 

Aaron got up and walked over to him, wrapping his arms around Robert’s waist and resting his chin on Robert’s shoulder. Robert kept looking over the land outside the window. “We’ve been here a while now, we need to figure out what we want to do,” Aaron said. 

Robert shrugged. “After visiting Vic I feel settled here, you know?” He turned around in Aaron’s arms. “What do you want to do?” 

“I don’t know,” he said. “Cain and Moira have settled down not too far from here, and the rest of the crew’ll be in visiting distance…” He smiled at the thought of seeing his friends again, even with so much happening in between. “I don’t care, really. Think we deserve a break after everything,” Aaron said. 

Robert smiled, eyes shining as he did so. Aaron loved his smile. “Maybe we stay,” he said. “Help your mum, start a small farm, spend our time in bed… whatever we want to do.” 

Aaron lifted his head and pressed a kiss to Robert’s lips. They were warmed by the sunlight and Aaron let his lips linger. 

Stay. He had always moved, always needed to travel, to see the universe and whatever was out there. Now, standing in Robert’s arms, that need faded away, replaced by a want of something entirely different. A home. 

“Might be a house here we could end up getting,” Aaron said, raising his eyebrows.

Robert raised his in return and kissed him, this time with more enthusiasm than before. Aaron started walking backwards to the bed, pulling Robert with him. Robert broke the kiss, looking down at Aaron with such warmth that the heat from the sun couldn’t compare. 

“I love you,” he said. 

Aaron grinned up at him. “I love you too.” 

He pulled him back onto the bed, kissing him, holding him. It felt more like home than anything he had ever dreamed of. 

**Author's Note:**

> this fic has been such a great learning experience, and although it hasn't ended up being what I thought it would be, I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, a kudos or a comment would be much appreciated. I'm [escapingreality51](https://escapingreality51.tumblr.com) on tumblr.


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